You Deserve Better
by Marine L. Girard
Summary: DracoxOC Six years after the fall of Voldemort, the Malfoy's lay low but still keep their pride. However, Lucius doesn't take too kindly to his only son falling for a muggleborn healer and seeks help from a Wizarding KKK, but things are never as they seem
1. Prologue: Breath

**A/N: When I first started reading the books, I HATED Draco Malfoy with a burning passion. Then, around the time I finished the fifth book i started to write this story. When the seventh book came out, i discovered the maybe Malfoy wasn't all that bad after all. I actually enjoy reading about that whole family (aside from their kid's names. Scorpius? I'm beginning to think that Draco's wife had no say in the naming of their son. I mean SERIOUSLY! Scorpius!? What is with the Malfoys and naming their kids after constalations?).**

**Anyway, post Voldemort, good times, good times.**

**Everything aside from Roxanna belongs to JK Rowling. I own NOTHING but Roxanna!!!**

Prologue---You Take the Breath Right Out of Me, You Left a Hole Where My Heart Should Be

A fifth-year Slytherin boy sighed deeply as he walked out of the stuffy Great Hall. He had been feeling down for a while. After the third time of coming close to catching those who were meeting weekly on the seventh floor in a room hidden in the wall but not actually catching them, he was beginning to believe they would never catch them. For some reason, he did not feel like keeping up with his usual antics, but wanted some time to himself for once. Pansy Parkinson was not too pleased when he told her he was not going to eat with her. Oh well, she can get over it, he did not really care for her that much anyway.

Draco Malfoy walked across the Entrance Hall towards the staircase that led down to the dungeons to the Slytherin common room when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He paused and turned around to see another fifth-year girl, from Hufflepuff if he remembered correctly, sprint down the stairs and outside onto the grounds; she appeared to be crying. Malfoy frowned, curious as to what was wrong with the girl. A dumb question, she was always picked on, by Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Slytherins, and Hufflepuffs alike. He had his share of teasing her himself but she never got too upset about it, so why was she so upset now?

He sighed again and backtracked back up the stairs, deciding rather suddenly that he would follow the girl and find out what was bothering her. She ran all the way down the hill to the edge of the Forbidden Forest before turning left down an old dog trail. Malfoy had trouble keeping her in sight through the branches and leaves that hung at eye level in front of him, yet despite leaves smacking his face and branches snagging his robes, he still was able to keep pace with her and somehow managed to notice when she veered off the trail towards the lake.

"What is she doing?" he wondered aloud. "Is she going to drown herself in the lake?" He only said it as a joke but he still could not help but quicken his pace to catch up with her. Turning off the path right behind her, he made much more noise than he would have liked moving down the hill through the thicket, but she did not seem to notice he was there. He got to the bottom of the hill to find a small clearing that opened up right into a small inlet of the lake and right in the middle or it, sitting on the ground next to a boulder half in the water and half out, was the red-headed Hufflepuff girl. She was sobbing as far as Malfoy could tell. Her hair was draped over her face, but by the way she sounded, the tears were definitely there.

He took a deep breath, swallowed the saliva that had accumulated in the back of his throat and walked toward the girl on the ground. He was standing two feet in front of her before he said anything and she did not acknowledge his presence until then, if she even knew he was there at all.

"Roxanna?" Her sobs stopped and she slowly raised her head to look at him. She looked positively dreadful. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were stained with the salty tears that continued to pour out of her eyes. She frowned when she noticed who it was.

"What do you want, Ferret?" Her voice was ice cold and it cut right through him like a red hot blade. He was surprised at how bad it hurt him to hear her talk to him like that. He flinched at the invisible attack but knelt down beside her anyways. She tried to turn away from him, but he roughly grabbed her cheek with his palm and forced her to face him.

"What happened to you?" he asked. He could not figure out why he was so interested in this one girl, he did not even know her that well. All he knew was that she was a fifth-year Hufflepuff named Roxanna. His mind screamed at his body to stop what it was doing and run away, but it would not listen.

She sniffed and forced her face out of his hand. "Why would you care? You're a Malfoy, you wouldn't care about a damned mudblood like me." Malfoy's eyes widened in shock. Roxanna, a mudblood? That could not be possible. She hated muggles and always tried to stray away from the other muggleborns, especially the Granger girl.

She was mocking him when she said "mudblood", he knew that, but he could not help but notice a slight hint of truth. Some part of her meant to call herself a mudblood. Malfoy was slightly disgusted with what he saw in front of him, and yet he could not bring himself to stand up and leave her wallowing in her misery.

"Why are you crying?" he repeated himself, more curious as to what happened to her. She glared at him, angry at his incessant pestering but he was not going to leave until he got an answer from her and she knew it. Finally realizing that she was not going to get any peace of mind unless he got an answer, she gave in and told him.

"I just received a letter from St. Mungo's." Malfoy's face scowled in disgust, he hated that place. "The woman who took me in after my parents threw me out when I got the letter accepting me into Hogwarts just died last night. She was the only real family I had!" His thumb involuntarily wiped the tears off the girl's cheeks. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously.

Malfoy quickly withdrew his hand and stuffed it in the pocket of his robes. "I'm not sure." That was the truth. He had no idea what he was doing. Inside, he was disgusted with himself.

"What does a rich, pureblood, Slytherin boy like you want with a poor, mudblood, Hufflepuff girl like me?" There it was again, the word "mudblood". He wished she would stop using it on herself. Whenever she used that word, he saw himself, an ugly version of himself that made him sick to his stomach. He hated her. She made him hate himself, hate everything that he was. She revolted him and yet she fascinated him at the same time.

"Truth be told, I have no idea." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly while getting to his feet. "I guess I'll just have to figure that out." That said, he turned and headed back up the hill. He knew she was watching him, he could feel her confused eyes on his back as he headed back through the thicket. He hoped he would never see her again, but knew that was inevitable. She was in a few of his classes after all. She would be the death of him, he knew it. He just hoped that it was not while he was still at Hogwarts.

XX0XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna was upstairs in the house that Rosemary Grendel, the woman that had taken care of the young red-head all through her days at Hogwarts, had left her, up in her bedroom, packing all her things for her last year at school. She was just figuring out if she had packed everything or if she was forgetting something when she heard the doorbell ring from downstairs. Confused, she shut the lid of her trunk and made her way down the stairs to the front door.

As soon as she pulled open the heavy oak door, a boy the same age as Roxanna came barging into the house, apparently frantic and nervous. Draco Malfoy had his wand out and was rummaging through the house all the while muttering jinxes and charms to check if the house had been bugged or cursed. After checking every room, upstairs and down, he put his wand back in the inside of his green robes, apparently satisfied.

"You must leave here," he said bluntly yet anxiously. "Now!" he said, his voice rose when Roxanna did not move.

She blinked at him, completely and utterly confused. What the heck was with him? She could only think to say one word. "Why?"

His patience was obviously wearing thin because his normally pale face turned red with rage. "Let's go, woman!" He grabbed her arm and forced her out the front door. "I'm risking my neck to come here to save you and all you can do is stand there and gape stupidly at me? I'm beginning to doubt my reasons for coming! If the Dark Lord finds out that I've left the manor, he will kill me."

Roxanna grabbed her cloak and wand right before she was out the door. She stumbled forward on her front steps before turning around to face Malfoy who had shut her door and was now stalking up the front walkway. "Malfoy, what's going on?" she asked, evidently confused at the whole situation. She locked her front door with her wand and quickly followed Malfoy down the driveway.

"The Dark Lord has taken over the ministry and now they have passed a law for all muggleborns to register with the ministry. If you can't prove you are of magical decent, you will be arrested. I noticed you were on the list of those who failed to show up for registration and came to warn you." His face was calm and void of any emotion.

Roxanna stopped in her tracks. "What?" she asked surprised. "You mean I'm not safe at school?"

Malfoy paused and turned to face her. "Death Eaters have been stationed at Hogwarts to ensure the Dark Lord's rule throughout the wizarding community. Even the new Minister of Magic who replaced Scrimgeor after his death is under the imperius curse by a Death Eater."

Roxanna's mouth dropped open at what Draco Malfoy had just told her. Could it be true? Could the Dark Lord really do that? It just did not seem possible, or even probable. Either way, the boy in front of her looked dead serious and Roxanna was willing to believe what he was telling her. She sighed. "Very well," she said. "If not Hogwarts, and not my home, where can I go?" It seemed stupid to ask and she immediately felt dumb for asking.

"Anywhere," he replied. "Just make sure you are not found by Death Eaters." She nodded and drew her cloak around her, preparing to apparate. "One more thing," Malfoy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with a face that said, "Fire away." "Tell me where you are going so I can send you an owl telling you when it is safe to return."

Roxanna was silent for a few moments before she replied to him. "America," she stated matter-of-factly. "I have an old friend in Arizona that I can stay with." That said, Malfoy removed his hand from her shoulder and she disappeared with a loud _crack. _

Roxanna, sure enough, found her friend in Arizona and she stayed with her for the entire school year. True to his word, Draco Malfoy sent her an owl in June saying that the Dark Lord had been defeated and it was now safe to return to England. She said goodbye to her friend and apparated back to her house. It was a little beat up and dusty but otherwise still in good condition. Now back in England, she did not hear any word from the blonde boy who had saved her life, and she hoped she would never hear from him again for the rest of her life.

**A/N: heh, I had to re-read Deathly Hallows to get this last part right. I chose Arizona because I have a good friend who lives there. In fact, I'm planning on taking a road trip to Tucson during spring break to visit him. I haven't seen him since we graduated high school.**

**Review please!! or, I KIIIIIILLLLLL!!!!!!**


	2. Chapter 1: Nightmare

**A/N: Okay, I think I kinda hurried the last conversation in this chapter. If it sucks, let me know and I'll see if I can fix it. Anyway, the beginning of this story is not quite fully planned out, so it might be a little rocky until they actually DO fall in love. But until then, please bare with me. **

Chapter 1----Nightmare

The red-headed doctor read over a client's file as she walked down the hall of St. Mungo's Hospital towards her patient's room. Roxanna Porter, the new healer in the hospital, was one of the best in her field of traumatic injuries. Fresh out of Hogwarts and medical school, she rivaled those healers who had many years of experience compared to her measly two. She was a natural and that is all there was to it.

"Let's see, the new guy," she said to herself while she bypassed the name written at the top of the paper and read over the stats. "Hit with the bone-breaker curse. Ouch, that's got to suck. I wonder how he got that." Shrugging, Roxanna tucked the clipboard under her arm and walked into the adjacent room where her patient waited for her. Walking in, she turned around and shut the door behind her so she could speak to the man in private. Facing the bed where the patient lay, she smiled when she saw how disfigured he was. Most of his bones were snapping and breaking in several places, healing, and then re-breaking all over again. She could not help herself, the man was in the most unusual positions and she had trouble just trying to conceal her laugh.

"Hey, lady!" the man said angrily through gritted teeth. "Do you mind helping me out anytime soon? Isn't that what doctors are supposed to do?" Roxanna's smile disappeared at the sound of his voice. He did not need to be so rude.

"Yes, I was just getting to that, sir." There was agitation in her voice but he seemed not to notice as he smiled and watched her walk towards the bed he was lying in. "May I ask how you got this curse put upon you?" she asked while she began to examine his body for any major injuries aside from the broken bones.

The blonde man snorted and turned his head away. "It was just a quick run-in with the wrong people. There's no need for you to know more."

Roxanna stared, pausing in her examination, at his pained expression from the breaking and re-breaking of many of his bones. The snaps and cracks could be heard as loud pops like the sound of a rock hitting the trunk of a tree every time a bone broke. Something about him seemed familiar but she could not quite place what it was, or who he was to her. She was sure she knew a blonde boy at some point in her life, but she could not remember if it was before she went to Hogwarts, or during. Whatever it was, some part of her memory was sparked at the sight of the patient she was attending.

After making sure that no part of him was in any danger, she pulled out her wand from her pocket and pointed the end at the man in the bed. "Okay, you are cleared for the counter curse." She waved her wand in a figure eight and said loud and clear, "_italiata setalia." _A few loud pops issued from the man's body and then went silent. Some of his limbs were still broken and Roxanna set them back into place and healed them right away with her wand.

"There you go mister…err…" She paused, realizing that she had not taken the time to read his name off the file she had carried with her. Glancing at the clipboard, Roxanna's eyes widened in horror at the name written at the top of the paper and she dropped the clipboard in shock. "Malfoy?" she asked incredulously. The man in the bed sneered, something Roxanna was all too familiar with, having gone through Hogwarts seeing it everywhere she turned.

"What about it, lady?" he asked, almost as if he knew why she was so startled by his name. However, it was quite obvious he had no idea what was going on and tried to go with it acting as if he knew everything. He had a habit of doing so.

"I just…" Roxanna was frozen stiff. She had no idea of what to do. How could he be here? Did he not remember her at all? "I'm sorry, I've got to go," she then turned and ran out the door stating that a nurse would be in to assist him soon as she went.

XX0XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna wandered the halls of St. Mungo's, singing to herself as she closed curtains, shut blinds, and switched off hallway lights. "Got a badge for my scars just the other day; wore them proud for the sake of my sanity. I can see the flames burn bright from the winding road." When Angels Fly Away by Cold seemed to escape from her lips as she moved along the corridors. She may not like her muggle parents, but she never gave up a few muggle luxuries such as bands she had always liked since she was a child. Cold just happened to be her favorite muggle band.

She came to the end of the hall and absentmindedly glanced at the adjacent room that she had been in earlier, the one she had been avoiding all day. Unwittingly, she pressed her ear to the door to see if the man inside was awake. When she did not hear anything, she immediately assumed that he was asleep and quietly opened the door to the dark room. A nurse had drawn the blinds to the window overlooking the courtyard, turned out the lights, and fed Malfoy before allowing him to sleep for the night. Roxanna's eyes darted around the room until they came to rest on the lump sleeping in the bed at the other end of the room. Without being able to stop herself, she walked the breadth of the room to the bed, and bent over the sleeping form of Draco Malfoy.

She could not believe him. He was the same Jack ass he was back in Hogwarts and yet why was she all of a sudden attracted to him in a way she never thought possible? Did he seriously not remember her? Or was he just pretending to get under her skin? Either way, she hated him for it, hated him for the way she felt.

Without even realizing it, Roxanna had leaned farther down to where her lips were mere centimeters away from his. She was bent over so far that she lost her balance and fell forward, her lips touching his. His eyes flew open and she let out a muffled scream from the back of her throat when she saw it. Unfortunately, she could not move a muscle. She was frozen stiff; her lips locked onto Malfoy's in a very awkward and yet very real kiss.

Strange as it was, Malfoy looked as if he had no intention of shoving her away. In fact, of what little of his face that Roxanna could see, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Scared, and mildly freaked out, the red-headed Irish girl gathered all her strength together and forced herself away from her patient. She contorted her face into an appalled scowl and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Why doctor, I thought love between you and a patient was forbidden." He was smirking now, something he often did and something Roxanna very much hated.

Her face twisted with rage. The bastard thought it was _funny!_ "Shut up, Mr. Malfoy!" she screamed. "I just tripped! It was an accident!"

If possible, his smirk grew even bigger than it was. "I'm sure, doc."

Sickened, Roxanna fumed and stormed out the door back into the hall to finish her security check.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna sat at home on her living room sofa in front of her television watching her favorite movie, Batman the Dark Knight. Her house was full of muggle items plus all her wizarding junk she enjoyed so much. She was a lover of both worlds having been born into both; it was the people she could not stand, no thanks to her parents. At the age of eleven, when she had received her letter stating that she was accepted into Hogwarts as a muggleborn, her parents were beside themselves. They yelled and screamed at their only daughter and kept saying things like, "No daughter of ours will grow up to be a freak," and "How could you do this to us? What's wrong with you, ruining your parent's reputation like that with your ridiculous magic tricks?" They had eventually thrown her out of the house quite forcefully and she was forced to wander around for the rest of her summer with her letter asking random people if they had heard of the school called Hogwarts until an old witch found her passed out from hunger by the side of the road. The witch's name was Rosemary Grendel, a very old woman retired from the Ministry of Magic with no husband and no children.

Rosemary took in Roxanna and took care of her as if she were her own child. She put the young girl through school, paying for her books and supplies and even bought her a pet owl in which Roxanna had promptly named Orion. In the middle of her fifth year at Hogwarts, the young Irish girl received a letter from St. Mungo's stating that her "mother" had taken ill one day and was rushed to the hospital as fast as was possible. Unfortunately, with all the possibilities in magical healing, nothing could have been done to help the old woman and Rosemary Grendel died the very same night she was taken in. In her will, Rosemary had left everything she owned to Roxanna.

Now, sitting on her couch, curled up in her pajamas in the house she had lived in during her years at school, she enjoyed the dark room lit by the television picturing a scene in the middle of the city of a funeral precession for the Commissioner of Gotham. Jim Gordon was just about to die protecting the mayor. She was just about to watch the Joker avert his aim from the 21-gun-salut to the mayor when her doorbell went off. Sighing, she paused the movie on Heath Ledger's scarred face and got off the couch. She walked through the hall towards the front door; her wand gripped tight in her hand behind her back, unlocked and opened the heavy oak front door to a very familiar and unwanted face.

Roxanna's eyes widened at the blonde man standing in front of her. "Malfoy!?" she blurted out. "What are you doing here?" Was he not in the hospital last she checked?

Draco Malfoy did not answer her question but stood stalk still on her doorstep, his hands in his pockets, his back slouched, and his grey eyes staring translucently at her as if he were vaguely attempting to tell her something. It was a repeat of six years earlier, when he had shown up at her door their seventh year and warned her not to return to Hogwarts but go into hiding because the Death Eaters, which had taken over the ministry, had passed a law saying that if a muggleborn could not prove they were of magical decent, they therefore had acquired their magic "illegally" and were arrested. She could not believe he was at her doorstep again.

They stood staring at each other for several minutes until Malfoy broke the silence. "Roxanna." He was stating her name as if she had forgotten it.

The red-head gulped a huge chunk of air that had gathered in her throat. "You DO remember me!" she cried. It was hard to believe considering his reaction to her at the hospital.

He nodded. "Yes, but not until this morning after I was released." Roxanna looked questioningly at him. "I thought you looked rather familiar so I asked the receptionist if she could give me the name of the healer who attended to me. As soon as I heard your name, my memory was sparked."

Roxanna crossed her arms, her wand still held tightly in her hand, and glared up at him. "And why, pray tell, are you here?" she asked angrily. "I'm pretty sure you don't give a rat's ass about me, so explain yourself." It was not a suggestion but an order.

Malfoy sighed and took his hands out of his pockets. "I would expect you to think that, what with you being a mudblood and I, myself, a proud pureblood." He paused to run a hand though his light blonde hair before continuing. "However, I just needed confirmation that it really was you who was my healer at St. Mungo's."

"Bullshit, Malfoy!" Roxanna scoffed. "What does that matter anyway? What is the real reason you're here? Are you here to kill me for dear old daddy, or your dead master?"

Malfoy grew angry at her statement. "Fine! Don't believe me, you filthy mudblood! Forget that I saved your life six years ago by warning you about the condition at Hogwarts! See what I care! You are such an ungrateful bitch, Roxanna!"

"That's fine by me, Ferret Boy!" Her wand rested forgotten in her hand as she continued to scream at the man on her doorstep. "I would have invited you in if it weren't for a certain trust factor that we seem to lack! Why don't you go run off to your daddy complaining that you just got turned down by a mudblood, you pansy-assed fucker!"

They glared at each other, their eyes burning into the other's as they both breathed deeply through their noses. Malfoy was the first one to speak after several minutes of silence.

"I guess I'll be going, then," he huffed irritably. He gathered his cloak around him, turned on his heel, and stormed off back into the night.

"Good!" Roxanna screamed to his back. "Maybe I'll actually get some peace and quiet here while you're off combing dear daddy's long, girly hair!" If Malfoy had been thoroughly insulted by her comment, he showed no sign of it as he disapparated back to his manor at the end of her driveway.

**A/N: REVIEW GOD DAMMIT!!! All I got from the last chapter was a fucking alert! If you want me to actually finish this story and make it good, then I suggest you review. Otherwise it might fall apart. See you next chapter...prats...**


	3. Chapter 2: Panic Attack

**A/N: Okay, someone by the name of I LOVE CATS sent me a nasty review stating that I fucked up the British Characters and if I was going to create a character that I should have them come from Britian and I should do research on it. They also called me a fucking YANK!! I do not tolerate this kind of SHIT from anyone! If you don't like what I'm writing, don't be a fucking BITCH about it! Tell me nicely and I won't rant at you in return. **

**I have a couple things I would like to say in return to this "I LOVE CATS" person. 1) I am NOT a fucking YANK! I may be from America, but I'm from the west and, for your information, I am half British, so you have no right to bitch. Calling someone like me a Yank is nothing short of a reason for me to hunt you down and murder you ruthlessly and remorselessly, UNDERSTAND!!!?? I WILL kill you if I find you! 2) My character is, actually, British. For one, she is from Ireland in case you were too fucking lazy or stupid to read, or even comprehend that part. Ireland is part of Britian, so is Wales and Scotland, Dumbass! If you were talking about the country, you should have said England, IDIOT! 3) I did actually try my best to keep Draco in character, but, as other writers can attest to this, it is actually kind of hard when the character is not yours and you're writing about them doing something one would think they would normally not do. I'm trying my best so shut the fuck up. And finally, 4) I do do research. I read the whole fucking series over again for this so don't you start preaching to me about doing research, moron. I try to get everything right when I write a story so I always research as much as I can. Hell, I researched a whole fucking town for another story I'm writing. I probably do a hell of a lot more for my stories than you will ever do in your life. You have no fucking right to bitch at me!**

**Now, with all the greatest possible respect, ZIP YOUR HOWLING SCREAMER!**

**That said, have a nice day, good tidings, and fair winds.**

**Marine L. Girard**

Chapter 2---------Panic Attack

One year had passed and Roxanna was glad that she had not heard from or seen Draco Malfoy within that time. She knew that good things could not last but hoped that she would continue to not see him until after she died. She knew that she was going to bump into him sooner or later but wished that the past year of solace would continue on for several more years to come.

The red-head was in her kitchen, making herself breakfast that consisted of pancakes, bacon, and eggs, when she heard a light tapping on the kitchen window. Curious, she lowered her wand from the frying pan, stopping in the middle of conjuring up pancake batter, and turned toward the window. Perched on the window sill out in the pouring rain sat a Great-horned owl. Clamped in its beak was a letter with Roxanna's name written on it in black ink. She flicked her wand at the glass and the window slid open; the owl swooped in as soon as there was big enough of an opening for it to get through. Roxanna took the letter from the owl's beak and turned it over, ripping the seal and then settling down in a chair to read her letter while absentmindedly stroking the bird's neck. It cooed happily, scrunched its shoulders and closed its eyes, succumbing to Roxanna's touch.

The letter was from Ginny Potter. Roxanna had not talked to the Potters in a very long time but she did not mind that much. They were friends of hers but she much rather preferred the solitude of living alone then spending all her free time with friends. Reading over the letter, she smiled at the neat and strait handwriting of her old friend.

Dear Roxanna,

Teddy is turning eight tomorrow and he said he wanted to do something "special" for his birthday. We decided we will take him to Diagon Alley tomorrow and let him pick out a few presents for himself. If you would like to come along, I'm sure Harry would not mind at all. We can meet you at the Leaky Cauldron at nine in the morning tomorrow if you would like to come. Luna, Neville, Ron, and Hermione are coming as well.

Reply to this letter if you wish to come. Hope to see you tomorrow!

Ginny P.

Roxanna smiled. It would not hurt to go out with some friends for once. She had not left her home for something other than work in months. It was time to reward her herself with a trip to Diagon Alley, she could do with a few new items around the house anyway.

Folding the letter back up, she grabbed a fresh piece of parchment, quill and ink from her study and proceeded to write her reply to Ginny's letter. Once finished, she folded the parchment, sealed it with wax and gave it to the owl to return to the Potters. That done, she resumed her cooking, this time while singing a happy tune as she worked.

XX0XX0XX0XX

"Roxanna, over here!" Ginny called from across the room of the Leaky Cauldron. Roxanna waved and bustled over to the bar where Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville sat while Luna enjoyed playing around with young Teddy Lupin by cackling loudly like the witch from The Wizard of Oz and chasing him around the tavern, between chairs and under tables.

"You're early," she said, looking around at the group who all seemed to be holding a butterbeer in their hand, all except Ginny who had a young baby James sitting in her lap.

"As are you," came Ginny's sarcastic reply. "It's only eight thirty."

"I know," Roxanna huffed. "So why don't we get shopping?" A loud happy shriek issued from under one of the tables in the tavern. Everyone turned to see who had let out the earsplitting cry: apparently Luna had caught Teddy and was now tickling him nonstop as he laughed, squirming, and trying to crawl away to freedom.

"Great idea," Harry piped up. "Teddy's been so excited for today he was up until about midnight last night. I'm surprised he still has energy for today." The party stood up together as a whole and Luna, who had been under the table with Teddy, looked up and released the young metamorphmagus who scrambled to safety as soon as he was free from Luna's tickling fingers. They both crawled out from under the table and followed the rest of them out back to Diagon Alley. Once behind the tavern, Ron tapped the secret brick and the red, brick wall slid open and allowed them once again into Diagon Alley. Little Teddy was so excited when he saw all the neat shops and stores that his hair turned a bright neon orange.

"Don't run too far ahead, Teddy!" Harry warned the youngster when he bounded off in the direction of the nearest shop that happened to be the Quidditch Pit stop. One could buy anything and everything they needed for Quidditch in that one store alone.

"Ginny, Neville and I are going to head to Flourish and Blotts," Luna said serenely. "Neville needs to make sure they have enough textbooks in stock for his students this year." Ginny nodded and Luna grabbed Neville's hand and led him off in the direction of the bookstore.

"I think I'll go with them," Roxanna added. "I've been meaning to buy a new potions book for quite some time now." Again, Ginny nodded and Roxanna jogged to catch up with Luna and Neville. "So how's teaching at Hogwarts, Neville?" she asked as soon as she caught up with the two of them.

"Pretty rewarding," he replied. Luna smiled and stared off in another direction as if she had seen something mildly interesting. "The students enjoy my classes; even some of the better-tempered Slytherins admitted that to me."

Roxanna let out a slight chuckle. "Some Slytherins, huh?" she tittered. "What are you teaching?"

"Professor Sprout retired a few years ago and I was asked to teach in her stead. You remember how Herbology was by best subject in school?"

"I do remember," Roxanna replied, still smiling. "You always had to help me during class, I remember that very well. You were a good tutor." Neville flushed a slight shade of pink and it remained on his cheeks even after they had walked in the front door of Flourish and Blott's and asked the clerk if they had ordered his textbooks yet. Roxanna and Luna split up, Luna running upstairs to see if they kept books on Crumple-horned Snorkacks or Gnargles, while Roxanna wound her way to the back of the store where they kept the books that had instructions on the most difficult potions to make. She perused the shelves for about five minutes when Neville found her shifting through a rather heavy book titled _Potions of the Bizarre and Dangerous. _

"Have you seen Luna?" he asked.

The red-head nodded. "Yeah, she went upstairs to look for books on magical creatures, or something of the sort. I can never really understand what she says that much."

"Thanks, Roxanna."

"No prob, Bob." Neville did not bother to ask why she had just called him Bob; it was her usual saying after someone thanked her. Neville then turned and left and did not stay long enough to see the blonde man walk from behind a bookcase towards his long-time friend.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Draco Malfoy saw a head of red hair enter Flourish and Blotts bookstore with the Lovegood girl and Longbottom. Hoping that it was who he thought it was, he quickly followed the three into the bookstore, waiting to get a chance to talk to the woman alone. He followed her as she made her way to the back of the store to the advanced potions books where there usually was no one around. His stomach lurched at his own luck.

Draco hid himself behind a bookshelf and watched the woman for a few minutes before identifying her as, indeed, Roxanna. She seemed so normal, as if her life was going perfectly well, and she seemed, happy? Had she met someone? Draco did not know if that news would devastate him or not but he could not help but feel sad at the mere thought of it. He was just about to go up to talk to her when someone came out of the isle beside him and walked up to Roxanna. Draco's heart fell into his stomach when he saw him.

"Have you seen Luna?" the man asked. It was Longbottom; forgetful git.

Roxanna nodded once, her smile unfaltering. "Yeah, she went upstairs to look up books on magical creatures, or something of the sort. I can never really understand what she says that much."

"Thanks, Roxanna."

"No prob, Bob."

Draco did not understand why she had just called Longbottom "Bob" but he pushed it from his mind as the man turned and left, probably to go find the Lovegood girl. As soon as Longbottom's robes fluttered out of sight, Draco forced himself out of his hiding place and walked up to the woman who would not leave his head everyday for the past year.

"Lovely morning, Roxanna," he said as he began to browse the shelf right next to her.

Roxanna jumped a few inches off the ground. She had been so sure no one but her and Longbottom was in the back of the store that she had not expected to see Draco walking up from behind her. At first she looked frightened, as if he was holding his wand to her head ready to mutter the killing curse, but then her fearful face turned to rage and she turned back to the book she was holding.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she asked, her voice cold as ice.

"I saw you walk in and decided to see how you were doing," he replied sounding confident with just a hint of sarcasm. "How have you been this past year?"

"Great." She still was not looking at him. "A full year without you interrupting everything was a wonderful energizer for my heart."

Draco closed his eyes and smiled. "I figured that's how it would be." He opened his eyes and picked a book at random. "Of course, I wish I had given you a proper goodbye after I stormed away from your place. We didn't really part on friendly terms did we?"

"No," she replied, her voice calming down. "That we did not." She tucked the book under her arm and began searching for a new one. "Maybe this time we will so you won't have to come find me again."

He got her right where he wanted her. She fell right into his trap and she did not even know it. "You're right, Roxanna," he began. This time she looked up at him, a mix of confusion, hate, and fear in her eyes. "I wish we had parted on friendlier terms last we met." He placed the book he had taken back on the shelf and turned to face her. She was worried and did not know whether to run or stay. Her feet shuffled uneasily.

"What are you saying, Malfoy?" Her voice was shaking, not from fear, but from nervousness.

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I don't want to be your enemy, Roxanna."

Her eyes widened. Now she was scared, her eyes were swimming with fear. Her arms went limp and the book she held under her arm fell to the floor with an audible thump, the pages open to _Draught of Schizophrenia. _He watched her as she stood as solid as a marble statue, until she began so shake uncontrollably and until she wrapped her cloak around her body and bolted out of the store.

He had no idea what he was doing once his feet began to chase after her. His mouth moved of its own accord, yelling her name as she squeezed herself between a crotchety old witch and a young, tall, handsome wizard with a scare running down his jaw.

"Roxanna!" he cried. She ignored him, slamming the front door open; she turned down the street and kept running. "Roxanna come back!" He shoved aside Longbottom and Lovegood as they came down the stairs in his haste to catch up with her.

"What the hell?" he heard Longbottom say, confusion in his voice. "Malfoy?"

Draco ignored both of them as he ran out the door and back into Diagon Alley. He stopped, panting, as he glanced up and down the street for a bit of red hair, red anything. Then he spotted her, running through a crowd by the apothecary in the direction of Knockturn Alley. _Bad way to go, _he thought as he bolted after her; he was NOT going to let her go down Knockturn Alley if it was the last thing he did.

"Roxanna, wait!" he cried. He knew his yelling was the reason why she kept running but he could not stop himself. He stopped talking as he shoved his way through the throng of people and noticed that he was gaining on her. She was having trouble pushing her way through the crowd, more so than him, which allowed him to close in the gap between them. He had missed grabbing her wrist by an inch right before she broke away from the crowd and continued running down the street. Determined not to lose her, he roughly forced his way passed the last few people and sprinted behind her, easily catching up with her within a few seconds.

"Wait, Roxanna!" he said, slightly angry, after grabbing her wrist and turning her towards him. "Why are you running from me?" he asked, a bit more calm now. His heart was pounding in his chest and he panted, attempting to catch his breath.

She would not look at him, she absolutely refused. "I don't want…I don't…" She could not finish. Either that or she would not finish.

"What don't you want?" he asked, trying to sound sympathetic. He failed miserably and accidentally sounded a bit peeved.

She shook her head, trying not to talk even though it was obvious she was burning to say **some**thing to him.

Grabbing her shoulders, Draco shook them softly, jarring her from her own mind. "Roxanna, look at me!" She obliged and raised her head to look him in the eyes. He immediately regretted his request for as soon as her head was raised, he saw salted tears streaming from her eyes and flow rapidly down her cheeks. "Roxanna, I'm sorry, but I…" Now it was his turn to not be able to finish what he was going to say.

"But you what, Malfoy?" she asked. All the bitterness she carried was put into that one question. "But you don't hate me for being a mudblood? What a load of shit!" She shook her head again and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

There it was again, that same word he used to use so lightly but now it stung him to hear it, especially when it came from Roxanna's lips. He cringed, but kept a hold of her shoulders. There was no way in the name of Merlin's blue trousers that he was going to let her get away again.

Draco shook her shoulders again. "Roxanna, just listen to me." This time his voice was soft and meaningful. "I really do not want to be your hated enemy anymore." He raised her chin and she looked back into his grey eyes once again. "When we were kids, I will be honest here, I did not like you, but as we got older I grew to find that I did not want to hate you." He could see all her emotions melding into one in her face; hate, confusion, fear, happiness, sadness, everything. "Please, don't let me hate you anymore." Without even thinking, he bent down and lightly pressed his lips to hers. She let out a muffled scream much like the one she had at St. Mungo's, but she did not pull away.

After a few seconds, he let her go. She was no longer crying, but her expression stayed the same; all emotions melded into one. At first he thought that she was willing to accept what he had just done, but then, at the same time, a stinging pain erupted on his cheek just as he heard a young boy say pleadingly, "Harry, can I have an owl? Please!"

Draco staggered backwards from the force of Roxanna's hand colliding with his face while his own hand flew to his now red and inflamed cheek. He watched as Roxanna turned on her heel and stalked off back where she had come. He watched as she rejoined her friends who stared at him disbelievingly. Had they seen what he had just done? Draco hoped to God they did not but when he saw the look of scorning rage on Potter and Weasley's faces, he knew the inevitable happened.

"What," Potter began, his rage flowing through his voice. "Was THAT, Malfoy!?" He pushed little Teddy in the direction of his wife and half walked, half charged at Draco. Grabbing Draco's cloak collar, Potter almost lifted him off the ground in his rage. "Because you couldn't have Ginny, you decide to go for her photo copy!?" He was half joking when he said it, but it was true. Roxanna looked a lot like the Weasley girl in many aspects. The only real difference was Roxanna's green eyes where the Weasley girl had brown. Fortunately for Draco, however much Potter wanted to believe that was true, it was not. He had thought the Weasley girl was pretty several years ago, but never wanted her. Roxanna on the other hand was a completely different case. He either really loved her or he really hated her.

"That's not true, Pothead!" Draco was getting right in his face now. "I never wanted your wife, never! I did not mean to cause harm with what just happened!"

Potter wrenched his enemy around a bit before yelling at him again. "You kissed her, Malfoy! We all saw it! Don't try to pretend it didn't cause any harm, because it did!"

"That's not true," said a voice back with the group. Draco turned his head at the same time Potter did to see Roxanna standing only a few feet away from the two of them, staring livid at both Potter and Draco. "He wasn't the one who kissed me!"

"Roxanna, we saw it!" Potter said, sounding convinced. "Don't try to tell me it was someone else!"

"I was the one who did it!" she yelled back. Draco's eyes widened in shock; what was she thinking? Was she trying to cover for him? "It wasn't him, it was me! I was the one who kissed him!" Now everyone was staring at her oddly. Lovegood had stopped staring happily at the clouds when she heard Roxanna's odd accusation and the little werewolf spawn stopped pestering the Weasely girl for an owl. Everything was silent before Roxanna began talking again. "Don't rail on him for something I did, Harry!"

Draco was so befuddled he did not feel Potter release his robes from surprise. What on earth was she doing? It was obvious to everyone there that he, Draco Malfoy, was at fault, so why was she blaming herself?

"Roxanna, they saw every-" Draco began but the Irish girl cut him off.

"Don't start, Malfoy!" she screamed. "You know full well what happened so don't try and take the blame! It was me through and through!" His mouth gaped like a fish for a few seconds before closing. "You were the one who wouldn't leave me alone so I thought that if I gave you a small tidbit of what you wanted, then you'd leave me alone! Don't even dare think that it meant anything." She bit her lip and then turned on her heel once again and stormed off down Diagon Alley. Lovegood ran after her and put her arm around her friend's shoulder while the rest stayed and lingered.

Potter turned back to Draco. "If we ever hear of you harassing Roxanna again, I will personally rip your head off." His threat made, he turned back to his wife and took her hand. "Come on Ginny, let's go." She followed, along with the rest of the group; Ron, Hermione, and Neville with the little Lupin lagging behind.

Draco watched them leave, and even continued to stand, completely dumbstruck, where he was even after the party had disappeared around the corner. Why, in the name of Merlin's gray beard, had Roxanna stuck up for him? If she hated him so much, why had she just let him take the fall and allow Potter to brandish his punishment? It was very peculiar and he hoped that he would get some answers sooner than later, otherwise the curiosity would fester and breed like a parasite in his brain.

**A/N: Now that I got that ranting out of my system, I would like take this time to say, "I hope you liked this chapter. I enjoyed writing it very much and it surprisingly did not take very long." (I haven't updated for a while because I've had my nose stuck in Deathly Hallows, and I was in San Diego for a week.)**

**Don't forget to review! And make them nice, even IF you are bashing my story! You don't want me to yell at you like I did the last person (see rant above)!**


	4. Chapter 3: Stricken

**A/N: Okay, I realize that some of you might be complaining about the fact that Draco is not acting exactly like he did in the books. All I can say to that is I kinda skipped the part were he was freakishly conflicted. That was during his Hogwarts years in this story. I would have written about that only if I wanted to make this story about 35 fucking chapters long. Good luck with me finishing THAT many. =[ Anyway, another reason is that I believe that Draco did a bit of growing up unlike SOMEone that I will not mention. *Cough*Lucius!*Cough* God I hate that guy. He's such and ass!**

**Anyway, on with the story.**

Chapter 3-------Stricken

For the next few weeks, Roxanna thought that she really had scared Malfoy off. She had not seen him or even heard word of him since she had taken the blame for him. Now that she thought about it, she could not remember why she had done that. She remembered vividly, Ron pestering her with questions about why on God's green earth she would want to kiss Malfoy in the first place. Roxanna had waved off every question he had asked her and disapparated back to her home as soon as she could.

Roxanna was in the downstairs bathroom, a toothbrush in her right hand and an open tube of toothpaste in her left. Squeezing a bit of toothpaste on her brush, she wet the paste under the running faucet and placed the brush in her mouth, scrubbing her teeth thoroughly. Once finished, she spit out the foam into the sink and rinsed her brush. She placed the toothbrush back in its holder and took several sips of water from a full cup on the counter.

She was just about to start washing her face when she heard a crack as if someone had just apparated in the distance. Curious, she dried off her wet hands on a nearby towel and ran to the closest window. To her great surprise and horror, she noticed a tall man with light blonde hair standing at the end of her driveway by the road. Roxanna was furious. How could he bring himself to come here? Had he not had enough already?

Now thoroughly pissed off, she slipped on a pair of sneakers, snatched up her wand and stormed out of the bathroom towards the front door, not even bothering to put a robe over her pajama pants and tank top. Roxanna yanked open the oak front door, her wand already pointed in front of her, and was not at all surprised to see Draco Malfoy right on her doorstep looking absolutely astounded that she had a wand pointing at him threateningly.

"What the **hell **are you doing here, Malfoy!?" Her voice was cold as ice and devoid of any sympathy towards the sad-looking man standing in front of her. Malfoy seemed to take a step back and Roxanna took it as an invitation to push him off her property. She took two steps forward for every one that he took.

"I just came to talk to you!" he cried out, now trying to run backwards faster than she was running at him. He turned to her left onto her front lawn, tripped over a rock and fell to the ground.

Roxanna glared down at the fallen man, her wand still pointing threateningly at his chest. "Talk about what?" she asked heatedly. "Couldn't you have just sent me an owl?"

Malfoy swallowed. He knew that she was exceptionally good at attack spells, jinxes, hexes, and curses even though she rarely ever used them and was not about to test his luck. "I didn't send an owl because I knew you would throw the letter away and I would never get an answer in return." He paused, staring up at Roxanna's unchanging face. "I thought it best if I talked to you in person."

There was a long silence before the red-head spoke in answer. "Fine then," she said, her voice a bit steadier but her wand still pointed at Malfoy's chest. "What did you want to talk about?"

Malfoy sat frozen on the ground in front of Roxanna, almost rooted there aside from the slight twitches in his fingers that gave away the fact that he did not know if it was safe to stand before answering or not. Roxanna did not remove her wand so Malfoy thought it best if he stayed where he was.

"I wanted to-" He cut off, unable to finish. There was a long silence before he spoke again. "Iwantedtotalktoyouaboutdiagonalley." He was so nervous that he said it all as one word.

For a moment, Roxanna did not understand what he had said, but when she thought a bit about it, recognition suddenly came to her. She was suddenly swept with red-hot anger and an urge for violence. Her grip tightened on her wand and she glowered at the man at her feet.

"And why would I want to talk about that?" she said through gritted teeth.

He seemed to gather a bit of courage at her question. Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up and looked down at Roxanna's glaring eyes. "I had a feeling that you wouldn't, but I came here for a purpose and I'm not leaving until I've explained everything."

Roxanna stared up into the overbearing face of Draco Malfoy and lost her air of confidence. He was determined to get his point across whether she liked it or not. She dropped her wand hand to her side, her angry demeanor diminished and she stared up at Malfoy as if she were in a trance.

They stood in silence for what seemed to Roxanna several hours but in reality only a few seconds. Finally, the silence was broken by Malfoy when he took a small package out of his pocket.

"I…wanted to give this to you…" He paused and took her hand in his. "That day in Diagon Alley, but I, unfortunately, did not get the chance." He placed the tiny package in her hand and clasped his hands over hers. Roxanna had a hard time coming to terms with the fact the Draco Malfoy was not acting his normal self. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he not supposed to be a little more sinister? What was with the sudden and rather odd displays of affection?

"I…but….huh?" was all she could sputter out as she stared up at him, completely and utterly befuddled.

"I never thought I would say this to a muggleborn," he began. It confused Roxanna even more when he said the word "muggleborn" instead of "mudblood". "But I care for you, Roxanna. Why do you think I saved your life six years ago?"

"But I though you **hated **me!" Roxanna yelled. "You always acted like it, around me and everyone else." She rubbed her temple with her free hand before continuing. "Is this a joke? Because if it is, I have no problem with cursing you right where you stand."

Malfoy sighed and placed a hand on the back of her neck. "This isn't a joke, Roxanna. This is the truth. Trust me, it took a very long time for me to come to grips with this." She gave him a very odd look that said, "Yeah right" but he continued as if he had not seen it. "Yes, I did act like I hated you; but that's just it, I **acted **like it. Back then all I cared about was reputation. What people thought of me was everything. However, after the Dark Lord took over my family's home, my interest in reputation began to diminish. That's when I came to warn you about the law for muggleborns. Yet even then I had a hard time straying from my normal routine of pretending to not care." Upon seeing Roxanna's puzzled expression, he added: "I tried to tell you, but something blocked the words from escaping my mouth. I'm sorry I could not have told you sooner."

"I…" Roxanna was at a loss for words. What the hell was going on? Was he serious? Has he really liked her all these years and not said a word.

"Open the package." Malfoy released her hand and she slowly began to rip open the brown paper. Roxanna's eyes opened wide when she held the small, silver chain in her hand. She held the necklace in front of her face and a tiny emerald pendant that sparkled in the moonlight hung from a silver chain.

"Draco, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed. Roxanna opened the clasp and hooked it around her neck. Smiling, she looked up at Malfoy to see him looking completely baffled. "What is it?"

"You…" He seemed at a loss for words. "You called me by my first name." Roxanna's smiled disappeared immediately.

"Yes, I did." They were silent for a while before Roxanna spoke again. "What is this for, Draco?" She held out the emerald pendent attached to her neck.

He looked at it, seemed to think for a moment, and then said: "For you. I gave it to you in hopes that you would not see me as an enemy anymore." Again, he took her hands in his and moved closer to her. "Please don't let me be your enemy." He then lowered his face and slowly pressed his lips to hers for the second time that month. This time there was no muffled scream from Roxanna; this time she seemed to not mind as much as she did before. However, she did not make any moves to show that she actually wanted to kiss him. She just allowed Malfoy to kiss her, not doing anything to push him away or keep him there.

Malfoy was happy that he was able to kiss Roxanna without her resisting. He did not want to break the kiss but she still did not seem to be enjoying his lips on hers. Confused, Malfoy broke away and looked down at her blank, yet distressed face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," she replied with a shaking voice. "I…I need some time to think about this." She then turned around and ran back inside her house, leaving Malfoy outside in the cold night.

Inside, Roxanna turned off the lights with a flick of her wand and ran up to her bedroom. Slumping down on her bed, she stared up at the ceiling, fingering the emerald pendent with her mind a complete blank. No thoughts would come to her and neither would sleep. She knew she had to work early the next day, but it seemed impossible to fall back to sleep. Her run-in with Malfoy seemed to render her mind and body entirely useless.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Draco Malfoy lay on his bed in one of the many upstairs bedrooms of Malfoy Manor, his eyes staring at the ceiling above him, obviously bored. Yes, he still lived at his parent's house. He would have moved out the moment he had gotten his current job at the Ministry of Magic if his mother had not insisted he stay. Narcissa, it appeared, had a little trouble with the idea that her baby boy had grown up. Normally Draco would have ignored his mother's pleadings, but something about the way she had begged him so persistently made him hesitate just long enough to allow his father to agree with his mother and that was what did it. He just could not defy both of his parents at once.

Draco lay on his bed, twirling his wand in his fingers; he glanced to his bedside table at the small clock that sat upon it. It was late, too late for him to be up the night before he had to go into work early. Yet somehow he felt that if he fell asleep now, he would miss something he had been waiting on for quite some time now; a letter from the one girl that even merely interested him. Nearly two weeks had passed since he had seen or even talked to Roxanna. He thought that she would take just a few days deciding on an answer to his request, but he turned out to be sorely wrong. He was beginning to think that she had blown him off when a light tapping sound resounded from the glass of his bedroom window. Curious, he sat up and turned around to face the window at the head of his bed. There, just outside the window pane was a white and tan owl with a folded piece of parchment clasped in its beak.

Reaching out and opening the window, the owl named Orion flew in and landed on his desk. Draco left the window open and scrambled off his bed. In his haste to read the letter, he tripped on his bed sheets and nearly fell flat on the floor but caught himself just in time. Walking over to the desk where the owl sat, he took the letter that had his name and address on it from the owl's beak and ripped it open rather crudely with impatience. Orion waited patiently for Draco to read the letter and excitedly write his response. It watched his every move while he quickly pulled a fresh piece of parchment from his desk drawer, diped his quill in an ink jar placed at the end of the desk, and hastily scribble an eager, almost too excited, reply. The letter took less than a minute to write and once he was finished, he folded it, sealed it with wax, and handed it to the owl sitting next him on the oak desk. It took the letter from him and immediately spread its wings and flew back out the window in which it had come.

Satisfied after shutting his bedroom window after the owl, he read over Roxanna's letter once more before placing it neatly in his desk drawer and crawling back into his bed to go to sleep. Drake, she had asked if she could call him Drake. He had no problem with that. His last girlfriend, Pansy had called him Draco and now he did not rather care for being called that anymore. It reminded him too much of that crazy bitch from Hogwarts.

Asking to call him "Drake" instead of "Draco" was a sure sign that he was wining Roxanna over. It did not necessarily mean that she had agreed to date him, but it did mean that she had, at least, decided to not hate him anymore. She wanted to be friends. This was fine by him, just as long as he did not have to deal with her running away from him, screaming at him, or smacking him anymore. Maybe this new friendship would lead to something more? He hoped beyond anything that it would and that night he fell asleep to dreams of him with the young Red-head.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna sat in the lounge at St. Mungo's with a cup of warm tea in her hands. A co-worker sat at the same table as her with the wizarding equivalent to a microwave dinner in front of her. The red-head sighed. Graveyard shift was always boring and always seemed to take forever to end. This one in particular seemed longer that the others because she was waiting on a letter she had just sent to a certain blonde man several minutes earlier.

"Are you sure he'll reply?" her co-worker asked as she shoved a fork full of food into her mouth.

Roxanna glared at her friend but nodded all the same. "Yeah, I do believe he will. He was all too enthusiastic about being friends, mainly more than friends but I don't think I'm ready for that quite yet."

"So you like him more than a friend, you just don't want to admit that to him," her friend, Helen, stated just a tad too calmly.

Roxanna frowned. "That isn't it at all!" she yelled. Helen jumped at her friend's sudden outburst and looked affronted for a moment before settling down and poking at her food once more.

"Sure, alright, " she said before shoving her fork in her mouth again. "But if it does happen, just remember that I told you so." The last sentence was spoken with a mouth full of food.

Roxanna glared at Helen for only a few minutes before she was distracted by a light tapping noise coming from the lounge window. Curious, she turned on the spot to see her owl, Orion, pecking at the window looking as if he were begging to come in.

"Well, lookie here!" The Irish doctor smiled triumphantly at her friend and then strode across the room to open the window. The owl swooped in and landed happily on Roxanna's shoulder, cooing contentedly after the letter had been removed from his beak. Walking back over to the table and sitting back down in her empty chair, she ripped open the letter addressed to her and read it aloud to Helen's interested ears.

"Roxanna," she began, reading the opening to her friend. "This letter won't be very long but I just wanted to say thank you. I'm glad you decided to let me be your friend and I hope to talk to you soon. Oh, and to answer your question, yes, you can call me Drake. Draco M." Roxanna finished reading the letter and looked up to see Helen staring at her with a smug smile etched across her face. "What?" Roxanna asked, completely baffled at the look her friend was giving her.

"Oh, he wants more than friendship, that's for sure." Roxanna rolled her eyes. That she already knew so what was Helen getting at? "And by the sound of that letter, the way things are going now, it's going to happen."

Roxanna sighed and folded the letter. She shoved it in her pocket and sipped at her recently ignored cup of tea. There was only one thing she was worried about with this new friendship with Draco Malfoy; how was she going to tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione?

XX0XX0XX0XX

Draco slammed the front door to the Malfoy Mansion shut behind him as he stormed into the sitting room after work positively fuming. His mother, Narcissa, sat reading a book on the couch when she saw her son storming through the room, obviously peeved about something. She sat up and tried calling his name to see what was wrong but he seemed not to notice as he bolted up the stairs to his own bedroom.

Upstairs, Draco threw open his bedroom door, slammed it shut behind him and flopped down on his bed, absolutely furious. _Damn Potter! _He thought. _Why does he have to get so protective of a woman who isn't even his own wife!?_ Draco's scowl grew worse as he ran through his run-in with Harry Potter earlier that day in his mind.

_"We're just friends, Potter!" Draco said rather loudly, his voice carrying through the office hallway. "What should it matter to you?"_

_"I told you to stay away from her, Damn it!" Potter had yelled back. They both made eye contact with each other, both trying to read the other's mind and their faces were so close, he could feel Potter's deep, angry breathing and was sure Potter could fell his. _

_"She was the one who agreed to be friends! I left the choice entirely up to her so don't yell at me for something you don't have all the facts about!" _

_"That doesn't matter, Malfoy! I told you to stay away from her and you don't appear to be doing that!" He paused, thinking of what he was going to say next. "I bet she only agreed to be friends with you so you would stop pestering her about it!" He stopped to spit at Draco's feet. "You disgust me, Malfoy!" _

_That was it. That was where he drew the line. As quick as he could, Draco reached into his robes and pulled out his wand, a curse ready on his lips. However, Potter was ready for him and pulled his wand out at the same time. They were at a standoff, both had their wands pointing at the other, ready to send a curse at the other, but not willing to for fear the other would be the quicker. _

_Suddenly, Draco felt a pair of strong arms, grab his wand hand and pull it behind his back. He was too caught up in his own captor to notice that Weasely had grabbed Potter as well._

_"That's enough, Draco," a familiar voice spoke from behind him. Turning, he saw the proverbial dark face of Blaise Zabini. An old acquaintance had come to stop him from getting both him and Potter in serious trouble with the ministry. _

Draco lay on his bed for quite some time letting all the steam that accumulated throughout the day simmer down and after a while, he decided he would send a letter the one in question that the argument and potential fight was about to see what she could do about the situation. Rolling rather reluctantly off his bed and setting himself on his feet, he dragged himself to his desk, pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and slowly began to write. The letter took a lot longer than he had expected to write because he had recounted his entire argument with Potter in the letter without even meaning to.

Finally finishing his letter, he folded the parchment, sealed it with wax and the Malfoy family seal, and ran back downstairs and outside to the barn. He normally would have a house elf deliver the letter to the owl, but this was one letter he decided to send himself. Sliding open the big barn door, he walked inside and looked around for his own owl. He climbed a ladder to the hay loft and saw the stable master snoozing in a big pile of yellow straw, a small beetle crawling unnoticed across his face. Sneering in disgust, Draco looked away from the slumbering stable master around at the ramparts and support beams of the stable and saw his big brown barn owl snoozing on one of the many wooden beams above his head. He whistled once, not wanting to wake the stable master but he owl continued snoozing. He sighed and whistled one more time, this time a bit louder and the owl slowly awoke and flew down to rest on Draco's shoulder, annoyed that it had to be woken before nightfall. Draco placed the letter in the owl's beak and it flew off to deliver his request to Roxanna.

He took a deep breath before descending back down the ladder from the hay loft. Draco hoped she would help him but even if Roxanna did talk to Potter, there was no telling whether the damn Boy Who Lived would ever actually leave him alone. Deciding to just let things unfold themselves, Draco ran back inside and up to his bedroom, and, without even changing into pajamas, plopped down on his bed and promptly fell asleep.

XX0XX0XX0XX

A light tapping at his bedroom window interrupted Draco's fitful sleep and unpleasant dreams. Slowly blinking sleep back from his eyes and groping around in the dark for his wand, he found and silently lit up the end. Looking through the glass, he saw his big barn owl perched on the window sill, a letter in its beak, pecking at the window to get his attention. Groaning, he looked at his clock and realized he had only been asleep for two hours. He slumped his face into his pillow, rather annoyed. At what, he had no idea.

"Fine!" he grunted. Sitting up, he opened the window and allowed the owl to swoop in and land on his desk. Draco shut his window, he strode across his room and yanked the letter out of his owl's beak. It squawked in agitation but otherwise ignored him as he ripped open the seal and read over Roxanna's neat and orderly handwriting.

_Draco,_

_I am so sorry to hear that Harry is causing you trouble and I must confess, I am not too happy about it. I'll talk to him and see what I can do to get him off your back; sorry about that._

_Anyway, I have a favor to ask you. After fourteen years, I've finally gathered up enough courage to go talk to my muggle parents, but I don't think I can do it alone. Would you mind coming with me? I get off work at four in the afternoon tomorrow. You could meet me at the hospital and we could head over from there. If you don't come, that's fine, I'll just ask Ginny or Luna, or someone. However, I would really like if you came instead._

_I hope to see you tomorrow!_

_Roxanna._

Draco stood in the center of his bedroom staring dumbstruck at the letter in his hands. Was she serious? She wanted him to go with her to meet her parents, which, to his great dismay, were muggles? Why him? Why not Potter, or Weasely? Those two were much more tolerant towards muggles than Draco would ever be. Yet she said in her letter that she really wanted him to go instead of any of her friends. Why? Was he that special to her? He hoped so and to find out what was going on in Roxanna's head, he decided he would go with her the next day to meet her parents.

Tossing the letter back on his desk and letting his owl back outside, her collapsed back onto his bed and immediately fell asleep once again.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Draco walked through the front door to St. Mungo's dressed in semi formal robes and strode across the hall towards the nurse sitting at the front desk. She looked up as he approached and stared at him as if to say, "What do you want?"

"Is Doctor Porter in?" he asked her.

Without saying a word, she consulted a long piece of parchment that lay draped across her desk and scanned down the list of names written on it. As she skimmed across the parchment, he noticed that next to the names were locations and as he looked at them, the locations of some of the doctors seemed to change from "exam room" to "hallway."

After a while, the nurse nodded and looked up at him. Setting the parchment down next to her, she said, "Yes, she's in the locker room right now, I'm sure she will be down in a moment."

Draco thanked the woman and sat down at one of the many comfortable armchairs in the lobby waiting room.

Roxanna must have just finished changing out of her healer's robes when the nurse had told him she was in the locker room because only a few minutes after he had sat down, the red-head came running out of the elevator into the front lobby. She stopped right in front of a startled Draco and bent over, her hands on her knees gasping for breath.

"Sorry I'm late!" she said through gasps of breath. "I had to run all the way down here!"

Draco stood out of the chair he had been sitting in and put a hand on her shoulder. She stood up, still panting, and stared up at him. "It's fine, I wasn't here that long anyway." She smiled and Draco felt a twinge of excitement from the way she smiled at him. He might have imagined it but he thought for a moment that her smile meant more than just friendship. He dismissed it as just a trick of the eye and returned her smile rather awkwardly.

Catching her breath, she looked over Draco's appearance and frowned in confusion. It made him rather uncomfortable having her look at him like she did and he suddenly wished he could turn himself invisible.

"You've got some nice robes on," she stated matter-of-factly.

Draco smiled and felt his cheeks grow slightly warm. "Yeah, I thought I'd dress a bit more formally instead of what I normally wear. I thought it best to give your parents a good impression." Looking up from his robes, he saw that Roxanna was shaking her head and smiling as if what he was wearing was funny. "What?" he asked, utterly bemused.

"Well, she began. "Considering the fact that my parents are muggles and kicked me out because I'm a witch, to make a good impression, you might want to consider muggle clothes."

Draco looked over his robes and contemplated Roxanna's words. He looked up at her and realized for the first time that she was wearing muggle clothes. It surprised him. He had never seen her in muggle clothes before and thought, to his great astonishment, that she looked rather flattering in them. _She should wear a short skirt all the time, _he thought as he looked her up and down.

Roxanna seemed not to notice him looking at her and just grabbed his hand and led him back outside. Draco's heart skipped a beat when he felt her warm palm touch his fingers. He knew she only took his hand just to lead him out of the hospital, but he could not help but wish that she would have other intentions later on in the day.

"You're going to need some muggle clothes before we head over there," she stated as they headed back into London. They walked down a muggle street and Draco felt a little out of place in his Wizarding robes surrounded by curious muggles staring oddly at what he was wearing. After a few more turns down some new roads, Roxanna stopped and looked up at a store sign. "This should do. Come on, Drake!" Getting behind him, she placed her hands upon his back and shoved him inside. Draco did not get the chance to look around the room he had just entered before Roxanna grabbed his upper arm and began dragging him off in another direction.

"Rox!" he started. "What are we doing?" She did not answer but pulled him off the walkway into a section of the store that had racks and racks of clothing, some Draco had never seen before. Roxanna turned around and studied him up and down before nodding and, as if she knew what she was doing, skimmed through a shelf filled with men's pants. After half a minute, she pulled a pair off the shelf and thrust them into Draco's reluctant arms.

"Here," she said. Try these on. He stared blankly at the pants he she had given him. He had never worn anything like them before but decided that it was not too late to try. What was the harm in that anyway?

"What are they?" he asked her as she was shifting through hangers filled with T-shirts.

She stopped what she was doing, turned her head in his direction and raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "They're jeans, what else would they be?" He raised an eyebrow, unsure whether it was okay to wear them or not and did not notice Roxanna had pulled a shirt off the rack until she shoved that in his arms as well. "Now go try those on." She turned around and pointed to her left. "The fitting rooms are over there. If you need help, just ask me, okay?" She turned to look at him but when he did not move, she grabbed his arm and dragged him in the direction of the fitting rooms. Once there, she grabbed the door to a stall and pushed him in.

Draco felt affronted for only a moment and did not hear Roxanna yell at him to hurry up as he stripped of his robes and pulled the jeans on up to his waist and slipped the T-shirt over his head. He turned and looked at himself in the mirror and, to his great distain, he felt the jeans begin to slip down his waist and he had to grab the belt loops to hold them up. He thought he looked alright but he did prefer his robes to the jeans. Sighing, he removed the muggle clothes and put his robes back on. Walking out of the fitting room stall, he handed Roxanna the jeans but kept the T-shirt; he thought it was rather comfortable.

"These are too big, they kept falling down."

She stared at him funny and then smirked. "There are three solutions to that," she began. "One, we can buy you a belt; two, you didn't zip up the fly and didn't button them; or three, they really are too big and we need to get you a smaller pair. Which one is it?"

Draco felt his cheeks grow warm. He let out a sort of nervous laugh and looked at the jeans he had handed back to Roxanna. "I zipped them up but I guess I must have missed the button." It was true, he had zipped up the fly but for some reason, he must not have noticed the button right above it. That must have been the reason why they felt rather loose around his waist.

"I see," Roxanna smiled. "If that's the case, I think we should still buy you a belt as well." She turned on the spot and walked off in a new direction. Draco followed her as they weaved in and out of clothes racks, shelves, and walkways until they stopped in front of a small rack that only came up to Draco's waist but was filled with belts. Leather belts, cloth belts, rope belts, male belts, and female belts, all in one area. Ignoring Roxanna as she started rooting through the large selection muttering to herself, he perused the belts himself, deciding he would pick something out by himself this time. He passed a bunch of metal-studded belts, ignoring how ugly they looked, and reached out to grab a kaki cloth belt. He ran it through his fingers before wrapping it around his waist to see if it would fit. Nodding with satisfaction, he tapped Roxanna on the shoulder and held up the belt.

"How do you latch this?" he asked her. She smiled and showed him how to loop the belt around the two metal rings and pull it tight. She had him try it a few times himself before purchasing the items and having him change in the men's restroom. He came out holding his robes draped over his arm and feeling rather disgruntled. He saw Roxanna's cheeks turn pink and felt his grow warm in return. He then realized that she had never seen him in muggle clothes before. Did she think he looked handsome, or sexy? He could not tell just by how she looked at him but could not help but hope and wish that she thought both.

"What do we do with these?" he asked, holding out his robes. She looked at them for a few seconds before answering him.

"We can drop them off at my place before we head over. Sound good?"

At this point, Draco thought that anything would be fine with him just as long as he survived his meeting with Roxanna's parents. He did not think he was cut out to help convince difference-hating muggles that the Wizarding World was an amazing place and they should learn to accept it. If anything, he was a complete failure. His one hope was that Roxanna would do most of the talking and he would just sit next to her as moral support.

They dissaparated out of the store parking lot back to Roxanna's house and dropped off his robes in her living room then left. Draco had no idea where they were going so he grabbed on to Roxanna's wrist and allowed her to lead him away from the house in northern England to some place he had never been. As soon as the world stopped spinning from the Apparition process, Draco caught his breath and looked around at his surroundings. It was a city, a lively town with cobblestone streets and stone buildings and yet still full of muggle contraptions and objects that placed the city in the current day and age. There was a pub to his right that was empty aside from a few people inside grabbing a bite to eat. It would be full by the time evening rolled around, he was sure of it.

"Where am I?" he asked no one in particular, forgetting Roxanna was next to him.

"Dublin," she answered.

He looked down at her. She was smiling, her white teeth sparkled in the warm, afternoon sun. She was happy, happy to be home and it occurred to Draco that she had not been back to her home town since she had left her parent's house fourteen years earlier.

"Dublin?" he asked as if to reassure that he had heard her correctly. "You used to live in Dublin?"

Roxanna nodded. "Yep, born and raised in Dublin, Ireland." Her smile seemed to fade as they continued walking down the street and her eyes caught sight of something Draco must have missed. He looked to where she was staring and saw a small suburb nearby and realized what was wrong. "My parents live down that road," she said, pointing to a fork in the road to the branch that veered off to the left.

Roxanna had stopped walking a few feet behind him. He stopped when he noticed that she was no longer next to him and turned around. "Rox? Are you sure you're ready for this?" At first she seemed too nervous to move but after a while, she swallowed and nodded. Jogging to catch up with Draco, they both continued down the street, after the first two houses, she grabbed his hand and squeezed. Startled, Draco looked down at her hand on his and all the color drained from his face for only a second. He knew the only reason she was holding his hand was because she was scared and nervous. He could not bring himself to think it was for any other reason but he did not want it to be just because of her parents. He wanted her to hold his hand because she loved him, not because she needed him. Draco's heart seemed to shatter at her touch and the further they walked down the road, the tighter she gripped his hand, the more his heart bled.

He felt cold, like he was freezing from the inside out. His neck twitch and he half expected to see Dementors swooping in on them from all around. The pain of her unintentional rejection reached deep inside him and sliced his soul in two then ripped it out of him. The harder she squeezed his hand while looking straight ahead, the more he wanted to die. He felt like he was going to cry, but no tears came to his eyes. Instead, they dried up and made him blink several times. There was a plank in his eye and it seemed that the only way to remove it was to blink too many times to count.

Roxanna stopping in her tracks suddenly and momentarily made him forget his pain. Puzzled, he released his hand and turned to face her. "What is it, Rox?"

"We're here," was all she said before pointing at a house with two stone lions placed on the porch on either side of the front door.

Nodding, Draco grabbed her shoulder and led her up to the front door. She struggled against his grip the closer they got to the door.

"No," she began. "No, I can't do this."

Draco sighed. "Yes, you can, Roxanna!" He tried to grab her and calm her down but she pushed him away and attempted to run off. Draco stopped her and forced her to look at him, both his hands holding tightly to her upper arms. "You must." He could tell she was close to tears, she was so scared. He was disgusted at her parents to leave her this frightened of them. What had they done to her to make her this scared to face them again? Whatever it was, he was sure he would find out later but now he had to help Roxanna face her fears. "Look, Roxy," he began. "I don't know what these people did to you, but I know now that you need to face your fears and face them. You are a lot stronger than you ever were at the age of eleven and you can't let the past get to you."

She sniffed and shook her head. "No, I can't. They hate me, they still hate me. Nothing with change, nothing will-"

"That's not true and you know it!" She was making him a little agitated and the rejection she had given him just a moment ago still held fast in his mind. "You brought me along for a reason that I don't quite know, but if my being here will help, I am willing to do whatever you need to get you through this. All you need to do is tell me what you need." He stared into her bright green eyes and at the same time she stared into his grey ones. It was all he could do to keep his sadness and doubt hidden from his face and eyes to give her all the confidence she needed to continue to do what she had set out to do in the first place. He was upset that she would never accept his love, but that was just what allowed him to do whatever he could for her and he knew that would never change.

Finally Roxanna closed her eyes and wiped the few tears that found their way out and nodded, smiling. "Okay, you're right," she said, a bit choked up. "Let's do this."

Now, with an air of confidence she did not have until then, she walked up to the front door and pushed a button on the outside wall and waited. They were silent while they waited. Draco could not help but watch her as she bounced on her toes nervously. It did not matter what emotion showed on her face; how sad she was, how angry or happy she was, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. It was cliché to think that, he knew, but he could not help it. It was true and nothing would change that. No matter how many times she rejected him or smiled at him, he would always love her.

Draco immediately broke his gaze upon Roxanna when the door they stood in front of opened and a man with red hair and a beard stood, fully surprised, in the doorway. Roxanna spoke first. Gathering all the courage she had she opened her mouth and said:

"Hi, dad."

**A/N: Dun, dun, dunnnnnn! Yes, she lived in Dublin! (I want to go to Dublin some day) **

**Okay, so the jeans part. I, for one, think that the pureblood families always wore their robes, never muggles clothes unless they had to (hence the fact that they never knew what to wear or how to put it together). The movies kinda ruined that for me.**

**REVIEW!!!!! I KEEL YOU!! =)**


	5. Chapter 4: Back Home

**A/N: This one took me a while to start 'cause at first I had NO idea what I was going to do for their conversation. I'm not very good and writing long, drawn-out conversation I but I think I did an okay job at this one. I hope it's alright =.='**

Chapter 4-------Back Home

The silence was stifling. He was having trouble sitting still on the couch next to Roxanna in her parent's sitting room. Draco could not stand it, someone had to say something or his head was going to explode. He opened his mouth to speak but Laurie, Roxanna's mother, came bustling into the sitting room carrying a tray of tea for their guests. It was strange, Roxanna's mother seemed absolutely ecstatic to have her daughter back home for the first time in fourteen years whereas her father sat in the overstuffed armchair across from them, his hands clenched into fists and glared at the two of them with the utmost malice.

Draco tried to ignore this by looking around the room with paramount fascination. There were objects and contraptions in the house that he had never seen before and they interested him greatly. His enthrallment in these objects did not seem to do anything for the father's hatred of them both. If anything, it made him even angrier and Draco thought he saw the man's frown deepen every time young Master Malfoy turned his head to look at a different object.

"Would you care for some tea?" Laurie asked, stretching out her hand towards Draco, attempting to hand him a tea cup. Draco looked up at her and smiled, accepting the cup. "I'm sorry son, I forgot. What did you say your name was?"

He sipped his tea while he watched the old woman hand her daughter a cup as well. "Malfoy," he responded. "Draco Malfoy." He did not think to say anything else but just stared in rapt fascination at small, black box that had a board with buttons with had letters written upon them. He made a mental note to ask Roxanna about it later.

Laurie's mouthed opened in a comical "O" and she nodded her understanding. The stifling silence returned and they all sat sipping at their tea, waiting for something to happen. One cup remained on the tray; Patrick, Roxanna's father, did not even touch his tea cup but continued to glare at both his daughter and Draco with seething rage. What was with this guy? Seeing her after fourteen years of not even speaking to his only child and he was just going to sit there and glower? Did someone put a curse on the man?

Finally, just when he was thinking that he could not take the silence anymore, Roxanna's voice cut through the air like a knife. "So, I hope I did not come at a bad time?" She sounded nervous and Draco could tell why seeing as she looked directly at her father as she spoke.

Her mother was the one to answer. "Oh, no!" Draco could tell that the old woman was trying desperately to keep things upbeat and joyful but she kept casting worried glances at her husband almost as if he was going to explode at any moment. "You have no idea how worried I was when I heard you ran away, I cried for three days strait!" Laurie's hands shook as she raised her tea cup up to her lips. The lip of cup did not quite make it to her mouth and she spilled tea all down her front. She continued talking after taking her shaking sip of tea but Draco did not pay too much attention. He was more interested in Roxanna's reactions. As Laurie spoke, it became apparent that she had no idea what her daughter was or the grounds on which she had left the house. "After you ran away, your father and I-"

Angered, Roxanna interrupted her mother forcibly. "I ran away, did I?" Her mother jumped and stared at her daughter confused while, out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw her father lose his angry composure, now looking slightly nervous. "Is that what dad told you?" Her grip on the couch armrest tightened as her gaze shifted from her mother to her father, her face transforming into a scowl. "Wow, dad! I didn't know you had it in you to lie to your wife about throwing your own daughter out of the house at the age of eleven. Kudos to you!"

Laurie looked from her husband to her daughter and back to her husband, by the look on her face, she was torn between wanting to believe one or the other. Before she could make up her mind, her husband broke the silence by snapping back at his daughter.

"Can you blame me, witch!?" As he said this, Draco saw all the color drain from Roxanna's face. He knew this was coming and so did she but he did not think that she was entirely prepared for it. The man turned to his wife, pointing an accusing finger at his daughter. "She's a witch, Laurie!" he cried, glaring at Roxanna. "I'm not talking about fake witchcraft that's popular with the young kids these days; I'm talking a real, legit witch!" He turned to Draco, who was not expecting to be brought into the conversation, but when he thought about it, he knew it was inevitable the moment he had agreed to accompany Roxanna to her parent's house. "No doubt this is one of your freakish friends that you brought with you! What is he? A Warlock? A Sorcerer?"

"The term is 'Wizard', sir." He could not help himself; Draco stood up and snapped at Patrick Porter without even thinking. "And I would be careful what you say to your daughter! There's no telling what she, or I, may do!" He knew Roxanna was giving him an appalled look behind his back but he did not care. The man was being a complete jackass, treating his only daughter with scorn and hate. What kind of father was he?

"If…" Laurie Porter cut in, sounding extremely nervous. "If it's not too much trouble, could…could I see some magic?"

Patrick had nothing to say to this turn of events, and neither did Roxanna or Draco. They looked at each other, both contemplating the same thing; should they? Things could not get any worse than they already were, could they? By the way she looked at him; Roxanna was asking him for permission before she did anything rash. He had no idea what the Minister of Magic would say considering that Mr. and Mrs. Porter were never registered as her guardians during her school days, but all things considered, he saw no harm in showing her mother a tad bit of magic to prove to her what they were. He nodded and sat down, not pulling out his own wand thinking that it should be her who would do the spell; whatever she was planning on using.

Standing up, she withdrew her wand from her pocket and pointed it at her mother's tea cup. Tapping the cup once, she said the words loud and clear for the whole room to hear. "_Kiengimita._" The cup immediately began to transform into something fuzzy. Fully transfigured, the tea cup was now a yellow finch. Scared, it jolted its head around the room before spreading its wings and flying off out the window.

Laurie gaped out the window in which the finch-cup had disappeared. Her fingers were still folded as if she were still holding the tea cup in her hand. "So…" She turned back to face Draco and Roxanna. "Can you…you know…" She pointed at Draco. He did nothing, waiting to see what she would do. "Can you turn him into a…frog or something?"

It only took a split second for him and Roxanna to exchange glances and then burst out into ruckus laughter. He doubled over in laughter, unable to breath; he could not say anything in return to Roxanna's mother's question. Her parents looked at each other, not sure what to make of the kid's exceedingly loud mirth and it was not until a few minutes later that either one of them could breath enough to get any kind of recognizable words out of their mouths.

"Oh, I could," Roxanna said between small giggles and deep breaths. "But I think he would look better as a white ferret than a white frog." She burst out laughing again and managed to get out something that sounded suspiciously like "A bouncing ferret," but judging by how hard she was laughing, Draco could not be sure. He knew what she was talking about. The little event in their fourth year when Draco had been about to hex Potter but Mad-Eye Moody had gotten there first and transfigured him into a white ferret, making him bounce up and down in the air with his wand. He was not too fond of the memory but he did not say anything, not wanting to make their situation here any worse than it was.

"That's enough!" Patrick bellowed jumping up to his feet and making Draco and Roxanna stop laughing almost immediately. "I've had enough of this whole freakish ordeal!" He turned to his daughter, almost grabbing the collar of her shirt, but apparently decided against it and yelled so close to her that Draco could see spit fly from his mouth and land on her cheeks. "I want you out of my house, NOW!" He pointed in the direction of the front door, as if just pointing would make them leave.

Roxanna seemed to gather up a bit of her courage from the little comment her mother made. She stood up right in front of her father, her eyebrows knitted together in an ugly frown. She was just as tall as he was, or a bit shorter and she glared directly into his eyes, determined to stand her ground.

"I am not leaving this house!" she screamed in return. Her and her father were locked in a death glare match so fierce, Draco was surprised not one of them was dead yet. "Not until I get some form of remorse from you! If you won't do that now, then I guess I'm going to have to spend the night, of not then, then I'll spend the week and so on until I get something from you. I don't care how faint it is, I won't leave until I get it!"

Patrick Porter seemed to have had enough of his daughter screaming at him. Furious, he grabbed her arm roughly and swung her about before back-handing her hard across the face. He had gone too far. Quicker than he had ever done before, Draco whipped out his wand and pointed the end at the man's throat threateningly. He heard a scream from the armchair next to the couch and saw out of the corner of his eye, Laurie Porter back up into the wall, her face full of terror.

"Wrong move, Porter," he growled, hatred oozing from his voice. "Let her go and I won't harm you!"

"You wouldn't," the man said, anger and confidence in his words, yet it was apparent by the glint in his eyes that he was afraid. "You don't have the stomach for it."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" he said mockingly. "I've seen worse things than you could possibly imagine, I can give you pain worse than any you've ever known. I can injure you in a way that only a specially trained healer from St. Mungo's could cure." Porter's composure was beginning to dwindle, Draco could tell by the way his lip quivered. Roxanna was not looking at him, but had her head bent low with her red hair casting a curtain over her face yet Draco knew she was scared, he did not need to see her face to know that. "What's it going to be, Porter? You, or your daughter?"

Patrick's hands were shaking, it was obvious he was having trouble deciding what he was going to do. Finally, after several minutes of staring directly into Draco's fierce grey eyes, he released Roxanna's arm and shoved her into the blonde. Draco lowered his wand and caught her in his outstretched arms. She would not look at him but just stared at the floor incomprehensibly.

"Come on, Roxanna," he said softly into her ear. "I'll take you home." He walked her out of the living room and was almost to the door when he heard a scream issue back from where he had left the Porter's. Whipping his head around, he saw Patrick Porter standing in the hallway with something Draco knew muggles called a "gun". This one was small and seemed harmless but he knew better. Raising his wand again, he pointed it at the space between him and Roxanna and her father and yelled, "Protego!" The shield charm popped up in between them just as the Irishman squeezed the trigger and a small metal ball flew across the hall towards them. The charm worked yet Draco did not know how long it would last but he did know that he had to get both of them away from the house as fast as he could.

Picking Roxanna up in his arms, he kicked open the door and ran out into the street. He shot another shield charm behind them just in case as he ran down the street and disaparated out of the Dublin suburbs back to England.

XX0XX0XX0XX

They aparated back to Roxanna's front lawn, staggered a little from the surprise effect of landing on grass, and put his arm around her shoulders, leading her back into the house. Opening the door, he led her to the living room and laid her down on her couch. She looked up at him and smiled her thanks, even through the tears that flooded down her cheeks, he could tell that she was happy he was there for her. Was that it? Was that all she was happy for? Couldn't she be happy that he loved her?

"I'm sorry about your father, Roxanna," he began. He had no idea where he was going with it. Not being able to think of something, he decided to just wing it.

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. He's normally more civil towards guests in his house." Again, she smiled and let out a small chuckle. She laid her head down on the throw pillow on the couch and closed her eyes. "I'm thinking I'm going to sleep here for the night."

Draco just watched her, only a bit confused as to what he was supposed to do. He looked around the room for something to occupy himself and found nothing but the strange black bock across the room, similar to the one he saw in her parent's house but this one was bigger and did not have a matching black board with buttons all across it. He sighed. There was nothing for him here. Not Roxanna, not even any object he saw around the house that he knew nothing of. Muggles, that was not his world. He knew only one way to live, as a wizard. Roxanna was a witch born of muggles, yet shunned by them all the same. She belonged nowhere; a part of both worlds yet not a part of either.

He stood up and began walking towards the door when he heard a small, sweet voice come from the couch in which Roxanna lay sleeping.

"You can stay here for the night, if you wish."

Stopping in his tracks, he turned on the spot to see that the young Dubliner had rolled over on the couch and opened her eyes. She was staring at him almost in a trance. Yet her eyes showed an emotion he had never seen before. What was it? It was almost as if they were determined, happy, infatuated? Could it be? Was this really happening?

He paused, unable to decide on what plan of action he was going to take. He looked at her faint smile and glazed, smitten eyes and knew what he wanted to do. He tried to resist his temptations by trying to use reason.

"I should probably get back to the manor," he started. "If my father finds out-"

"To hell with your father, Draco!" Roxanna was determined to have him stay, which was quite a shock for Draco. He did not know what to do but stare stupidly in her general direction. "He doesn't know what's best for him or his family! He never did so he's just going to have to suck it up." She was still smiling, something Draco loved to see very much but she unfortunately rarely ever smiled anymore. It was strange that she was smiling now considering the fact that her father had just tried to kill both of them not fifteen minutes prior.

Making up his mind, he walked back into the living room without saying a word and sat down next to Roxanna on the couch. "Fine, I'll stay the night."

Her smile broadened as she sat up and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shuddered. Never had she shown this much attention to him before. If he did not know any better, he would have said she was drunk and pushed her aside right away. But he knew better, she was completely sober and yet still willing. Something had changed, what he could not tell. Whatever it was he did not care, the status quo had turned in his favor and he liked it.

Unable to stop himself, he leaned towards her, ready to place his lips to hers any second and by the looks of things, she was too. He had waited for this moment for nearly six years, or maybe longer. His Hogwarts years were never clear to him, but they did not matter. What mattered was the here, the now, Roxanna's arms wrapped around his waist as their lips touched in a loving, passionate kiss.

Something stopped him, only centimeters away from her full, pink lips, he couldn't do it. After all the times he had tried to tell her his feelings through a kiss, for some reason this time it felt wrong. Why? He could not understand it. What was wrong with him? Is this not what he had been craving for years and years? So why could he not follow through? Why not now, now that she was finally willing to take him for her own?

Pulling away, he turned his head away from her and closed his eyes, thinking. He knew she looked up at him in disappointment but he did not want to take a peek.

"What's wrong, Drake?" she asked him. He had to open his eyes now, but he still could not look at her.

"I'm sorry, Rox. I just, I don't know."

They were quiet for a few seconds before he felt a soft hand upon his cheek and his head was pulled back towards the red-head. He stared into her bright green eyes, her smile was gone but she looked at him with understanding.

"I know what your problem is," she stated matter-of-factly. "You were so confident in what you wanted before, now that you're actually getting it, you're scared that it might not work out after all."

She was right, how could he not see it before? He was afraid. How could he back down when she was right in his grasp? He could not but yet he did. Draco did not know what to do but before he could make up his mind, he felt warm lips touch his own, if only for a moment, then pull away. Surprised, he looked down at her to see her heart-warming smile, her green eyes showing love and happiness. He was momentarily too shocked to do anything, but once he regained his bearing he smiled in return and wrapped her in his arms.

Together, they fell asleep on Roxanna's couch, both not waking until late in the morning the next day.

**A/N: Tell me what you think! The story is only going to escalate from here so prepare yourself! Next chapter it starts getting interesting ) **

**Review please! I like to know what people think and it makes me feel all warm inside! X) (considering the fact that I feel all cold inside, it might be a good idea to review. Just a thought.)**


	6. Chapter 5: Stab My Back

**A/N: Okay, as soon as I had finished this, I read it over again and thought of another name for it that works just as well as this one if not better. I would like to know what you all think of it. What do you say to this chapter being called "Father of Mine"? Just a thought, message me with your opinions!**

Chapter 4--------Stab My Back

Roxanna awoke the next day to find that she was the only one on the couch. She was pretty sure she had company the night before and, wondering where her guest was, she quickly scanned the living room in search of a blonde head. She found him, sound asleep on carpeted floor, face down with his cheek resting on his arms like a makeshift pillow.

Roxanna suppressed a laugh and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and running a hand through her hair. Standing up, she carefully stepped over Malfoy's sleeping form and walked to the bathroom. She studied herself in the mirror and frowned. She had terrible bed-head. Grabbing a brush, she quickly ran it through her flaming hair, wincing a few times as a couple tangles got caught in the brush.

Finally, after she was satisfied with how she looked, she turned to face the toilet. Business, business was required every morning, guest or not. This time, just to be safe, she locked the door before lifting the lid and sitting down to do her "business". Finishing up, she washed her hands and walked back out into the hall. Passing the archway into the living room, she took a peek at Malfoy, who had apparently rolled over in his sleep and was sprawled out, all fours stretched out in the shape of a star. Letting out a small chuckle, she turned around and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. Deciding that bacon and eggs with cinnamon toast was in order, she took two frying pans out of the cabinet above the sink and set them both on the stove, each on a different burner. She lit the burners with her wand and the pans became instantly hot and ready for the meat. She cracked four eggs over one pan and six slices of bacon in the other.

Roxanna inhaled the mouthwatering aroma of the bacon and eggs before she stuffed four pieces of wheat bread in the toaster. Everything was just about ready and she was placing the eggs and bacon on two different plates and starting to cook more of the sliced pig meat when he wandered clumsily into the kitchen. Malfoy yawned as he walked, unable to see where he was going and bumped into the wooden table, almost knocking the pitcher of orange juice onto the floor.

"Careful Drake, that stuff's freshly squeezed."

"Sorry, Rox," he said, scratching his back. "Didn't see where I was going. Is that bacon?"

Roxanna smiled and nodded. She watched as Malfoy grinned and clapped his hands together, rubbed them for a few short seconds as he sat down and picked up his fork, ready to eat.

They ate in silence, mainly because they were both shoveling their breakfast in their mouths like they were going to die in the next four hours. Every so often, Roxanna would get up and flip the bacon or refill the pan with more, uncooked slices. When they finished, she set her fork down on her plate with a loud clang and lean back in her chair. Malfoy did something similar but instead of relaxing, he stretched his arms above his head then let them rest upon his stomach.

"That was delicious, Roxy," he said, smiling and patting his full stomach. "You're a really good cook."

She shrugged. "Not really, I just do what I can. I'm better at breakfast than anything else." She fell silent, not knowing what else to say. Apparently, neither did Malfoy because he picked up his fork and began picking at the bits of egg yolk and toast crumbs left on his plate. As she watched him, she realized how similar in comparison he was to his father. Aside from the shorter hair, a more accepting personality, and lack of a "pimp cane" as she loved to put it when she joked about Lucius Malfoy with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, he was a lot like him. This unnerved Roxanna; Draco's father would never accept her. Not in a million years. Yet they could not keep this relationship hidden from him for long.

They had to tell him. If they waited too long, Lucius was bound to find out for himself and that would only make things worse. There was no avoiding it. This had to come out and Roxanna preferred sooner to later. Gathering her courage, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Drake," she began. He looked up, perplexed by her tone. "If this is going to work, we have one thing we need to take care of."

He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly misinterpreting her meaning. "We do?" he asked.

She nodded. "Your father."

Malfoy said nothing, only poured himself another cup of orange juice and took several sips in silence. He finished drinking his juice then set the cup down and spoke without looking at her. "What about my father?" he asked without emotion. It was obvious the subject was not one he enjoyed talking about.

Roxanna took a deep breath. "He has to know about me and it's better if one of us tells him." She stopped talking while Malfoy cringed but did not speak. "Otherwise, if he finds out on his own, things could be much worse."

Still, he said nothing and after a few minutes of silence, she decided she would make an offer. "I'll tell him if you don't want-"

"No," he said, interrupting her before she could finish. "I'll tell him. No doubt he will kill you if you tell him." He took another sip of orange juice. "Being who you are, it will only put you in danger. I'm his son, I should do it." Finishing his juice, he set the cup down on the table and stood up. "Thank you for the breakfast but I should get home now before mother begins to worry."

Roxanna nodded and stood up as well. She followed him to the door, let him take his cloak off the rack and open the door. Before he walked off, she grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving.

"Next time you're over here, I expect you to have told your father." He said nothing, merely nodded, kissed her on the cheek and walked down her front walkway, disaparating at the end of the yard.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna was busy in her kitchen, blasting one her favorite band as loud as her muggle "CD player" would go and sang along as she placed flour, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and mixed the ingredients together with her wand. She had just finished her dinner, had cleaned the dished and put the leftovers away and was in a mood for chocolate-chip cookies.

"Run away, make hate, and get laid; and get laid! You tie me up, I've had enough, so medicate; medicate!" The words left her lips perfectly on note as she sang at the top of her lungs Medicate by Breaking Benjamin. Banging her head in the air to the beat, she mixed in the chocolate chips with the cookie batter and was about to remove a cookie sheet from a cabinet under the counter when she heard a loud knock at her front door. She was surprised she had heard it at all considering how loud she was playing her music but shrugged it off and waved her wand at her radio, affectively shutting off the music.

Setting down her bowl of cookie dough, she walked out of her kitchen and opened her front door. She almost dropped her wand in excitement when she saw who was standing on her front porch. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him ecstatically. "Draco, I didn't expect to see you for a few more days!"

Releasing him, she stepped aside and motioned with her hand for him to come in. He accepted and walked inside, taking his cloak off and hanging it on the coat rack next to the door.

"Is that cookie batter?" he asked, a bit excited.

Roxanna smiled and nodded as she closed the door behind him. "I was just about to roll it up and put it in the oven."

Malfoy nodded, he did not say anything for a few seconds and then: "What were you listening to just now?"

She shrugged. "Muggle music. You wouldn't know them but they're called Breaking Benjamin."

Again, he nodded, not saying anything. It was odd, usually he would walk in and immediately want to do something, but he just stood there, not saying anything and asking random questions. Noticing his odd behavior, Roxanna placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, making her quickly withdraw her hand. He was frightening her with his sudden and strange actions. Something was wrong and her suspicions were confirmed when he walked into her living room and settled himself on the couch before saying:

"Rox, I have something I need to talk to you about."

She was cautious, not sure what to expect, but followed him to the couch and sat down across from him. His head was low and he looked at his hands as if debating what to do with them.

"What is it?" she asked, unsure of what to think of the whole situation.

Fidgeting with his fingers, he looked up at her and she noticed the normal shining resilience in his grey eyes was gone. Now it was replaced with uncertainty and, if she was not mistaken, fear as well. What was it that made him so scared? Roxanna wanted to know but she also knew that she did not need to ask him; he was about to tell her.

"I…" he paused, obviously not knowing how to begin. He must have practiced so many times before coming, but each time changing it up, thinking he was too forward, or too mean, or too vague. "Do you remember our sixth year at Hogwarts?"

Roxanna raised an eyebrow, not sure why he was starting out with that particular question, but nodded anyway and he continued on.

"You remember in June that year, when the Death Eaters infiltrated the school?" Again, she nodded, not sure where he was going with these questions. "You remember how Professor Dumbledore died that night?" Another nod. "And Professor Snape was the one who killed him?"

"Where are you going with this, Draco?" she snapped. She was sick of him beating around the bush and wanted him to get strait to the point.

Malfoy sighed and looked at his hands again but Roxanna did not notice him grab his left wrist protectively. "Snape wasn't the one who was supposed to kill him that night." He paused, his face full of fear for his next few words.

"I was."

Those two words pierced through Roxanna like a red hot blade. It was not true; it could not be true. Her eyes were wide, shock, disbelief, and betrayal flashed across her face as she stared at the silent, yet remorseful face of Draco Malfoy. Neither of them spoke as his words sunk in and boiling hatred welled up inside her like lava.

"I fled the school with Snape only to find shelter with the Death Eaters and have them brand me as one of their own." He lifted the sleeve of his shirt on his left arm and Roxanna looked down to see the skull and snake tongue symbol of the Dark Mark tattooed on his left forearm. It was faded now, with Voldemort destroyed and powers diminished, there was no use or reason for the Mark to remain brilliant upon Malfoy's skin.

She did not say anything, just sat staring at the Mark on his arm as if it were the Devil himself. Malfoy pulled his sleeve back down, covering the Mark and resumed fidgeting with his fingers like he did before.

"I understand that this was not something you ever wanted to see, but it had been hanging over my head ever since I received it." She did not, could not hear the pain in his voice. Too wrapped up was she in her anger that she could only hear her own thoughts. "There was no way I would be able to speak to my father about us until I had told you."

Finally, Roxanna spoke and she was surprised to hear how much malice was in her voice. "You didn't even **try **to tell your father did you?" she asked, anger surging through her body as if it was her own blood. This was not the real reason why she was so angry at him, it was a mask to cover her true anger and she failed to notice the remorse and fear etched across the face in front of her.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he began. "I felt like I had to tell you this first."

"You **liar**!" she screamed. Jumping to her feet, she glared down at Malfoy, her hands clenched into fists and every muscle in her body tensed as much as they would allow. "You never meant to tell you him, did you!? You're too fucking afraid that your fellow Death Eater will kill you for it! You just can't seem to get it out of measly little pea brain that there are others in this world that deserve a happy life just like you, can't you!?" Roxanna paused to take a breath from her rage and let her words sink in. "You disgust me!" she growled.

They were silent for only a minute before Malfoy decided to speak. "I'm sorry, Roxanna." He could not bring himself to say anything else and jumped when the woman in question burst out in fury again.

"**Don't **call me that, Malfoy!" she screamed. "I don't want to hear you say my name again!" She closed her eyes and shook her head once before opening them again. "In fact, I don't even want to hear you speak again!" She bent down and grabbed his upper arm in a vice-like grip and wrenched him to his feet. "I want you out of my house! I want you gone and I don't ever want to see you again!" Roxanna dragged him back through her house to the front door. She opened the heavy wooden door and threw him out.

"Roxanna, wait!" Malfoy tried to get her attention, wanting to reason with her but she purposefully ignored his pleas and turned away from him.

"**Never **come back here, Draconis Malfoy." Her voice was surprisingly steady for how furious she was. "You are no longer welcome here." That said, she slammed her front door in his sad, confused, and depressed face; leaving him standing, without a cloak, in the cold, snowy night.

XX0XX0X0XX

Draco remained standing outside Roxanna's house long after she had shut the door in his face. He had ran through all the possible outcomes of what could happen that he could think of but what happened had been none of them. For a moment, Draco was too shocked to think anything. Not even the biting cold and wet snow surrounding his frozen feet were noticed; his mind was a complete blank.

Then, after a few minutes of standing outside and staring blankly at the closed front door, he suddenly became conscious of the events that had just transpired right in front of his face. Sadness washed over him like a cold wind, much like the wind that blew past him at that very moment. He lost her, lost her for good. She would never forgive him, even if he marched back in there and begged on hands and knees for forgiveness, she would not consent. He knew she had tried her best to mask it, but not telling his father was not the only reason she tossed him out in the cold. It was the Dark Mark, the one thing that ruined many lives, ripped apart families, and destroyed relationships; and now it was destroying his life like it did many years before.

The ugly truth engulfed him and it was suddenly too much to handle. He felt like he was drowning in ice water, every pore in his body, every vein, froze up and immense physical pain was added to his already mind-crushing emotional pain. He wrapped his arms over his head and dropped to the snow-covered earth. He yelled; roared at the top of his lungs. He did not care if Roxanna heard him inside, not even if she stormed out of the house and unleashed the cruciatus curse on him. Any physical pain was better than the emptiness he felt growing inside his chest.

Then he felt them. Hot, wet tears leaked out of his eyes and rolled down his frozen cheeks. He did not try to wipe them away, but welcomed them, let them flow down his face and freeze on his skin. Draco sat on his knees in the snow and allowed himself to cry, no longer caring about dignity, pride, or reputation. He looked at his hands and thought about Roxanna's flaming red hair running through his fingers and smiled; but it was gone in the manner of a second when the memory of her livid face came rushing back along with the upsetting truth that she was gone forever.

He blamed himself, blamed Potter, Weasley, Granger, and Dumbledore. He blamed Voldemort for all the pain he had inflicted on his family. He even went as far as blaming his mother; but Draco put the most blame on the one person who was the cause of it all, his father.

It was his entire fault, Lucius Malfoy's. Instilling his twisted family values and loyalty to the Dark Lord on his only son and expecting poor Draco to take the fall for his mistakes. This nagging thought had remained at the back of his mind his entire sixth year while he worked diligently to fix the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement. He knew it then but chose not to believe it and did his best to ignore it.

His father.

He knew now, the only way to fix his broken life. He hated the thought of it, but it was the only way. The only way to get Roxanna back, the only way to no longer be hung up on his past mistakes and failures; it was time to stop living in the past. It was time to repair his heart and that of the woman he loved.

It was time to denounce his father and every bit or morals he had engraved in his son since the day he was born.

**A/N: Dun, dun, dunnnnn!!! It will now start getting extremely interesting! Yay! Interesiting is fun! (sorry for my childness, even though I'm not a child anymore, I sometimes still act like one) Action and crazyness and long chapters coming up! Hang in there, people!**

**Review Damn You!! I will run you over with a tank and shoot you with a 50 Cal automatic if you don't! (call me sadistic if you like, but I will do it!)**


	7. Chapter 6: Angels With Dirty Faces

**A/N: Yay for long chapters! I hope you all like it cause it was a pain for me to write. **

**I love the chapter name, so cool.**

Chapter 5-------Angels with Dirty Faces

Draco aparated directly inside his upstairs bedroom at the Malfoy Manor, intending to face his father immediately. It was time to end the suffering, hate and bitterness in his life.

He never expected to still be fighting after the Dark Lord was vanquished, but it turned out that one triumph was not enough. More obstacles were yet to come.

Draco reached to remove his cloak but as he felt for the draw string that held the cloak around his neck, nothing was there and he remembered painfully that Roxanna had thrown him out without bothering to return to him his cloak. The memory of her anger flooded back into his mind and his heart sank into his stomach. She hated him, repulsed him, she never wanted to see his face again. Roxanna had been the only thing that held his life together and now she was gone. He had to set things right, he had to talk to his father as soon as was possible.

He glanced at the clock that sat on his bedside table. 10:43. Damn_, _he thought. _They've probably gone to bed already. _He let out a deep sigh and absentmindedly stared at his desk where his quill, ink bottle, and parchment sat. He could write a letter to his father and leave. But where would he stay? The Leaky Caldron? No, he had to say it to his father's face. _I'm leaving. I'm in love with a muggleborn. To hell with your pureblood/mudblood morals. _Draco wished it was that easy, but things could go awry, not as planned. Not everything was picture perfect.

He decided to write a letter anyway before turning in for the night, but not to his father. Sitting down at his desk, he pulled out a clean piece of parchment and began to write.

_Dear Roxanna,_

_I realize that I am the last person you want to receive a letter from but please, just allow me a few last words. _

_I have returned to my parent's home with the intention of coming clean with my father about my love for you. I love you, Roxanna and I intend to set things right. Even if you still do not wish to see me after I have spoken with him, I would understand. I was never really the kindest man or the type of man a girl like you would ever really love, especially after the terrible things I have done in my past. _

_I just wanted to tell you that no matter what, you are the first and last woman I have and will ever truly love and if my father kills me, or someone else does, I just hope you find it possible to forgive me. _

_Forever yours, _

_D. M._

He read over his letter and, satisfied, sealed and went out to the barn to give it to his eagle owl. The bird took the letter in its beak and flew off into the night. Draco stood and watched it until he could not see its outline before heading back inside. He was exhausted and his bed looked so inviting.

Draco walked back into the house only to be confronted by his father, cane in hand, fully dressed, and glaring down at his son with mild anger.

"Father!" he said, jumping from surprise. "I thought you and mother had gone to bed already."

Lucius Malfoy tightened his grip on his snake cane as he stared down at his son. "You're mother has," he said, a slight hint of supremacy in his voice. "I haven't, not quite yet."

Draco eyed his father's cane warily and Lucius's upper lip curled in a sneer. "Well, I'm a bit tired, father. I think I'll retire for tonight." He moved around his father to head back up the stairs but a strong arm was thrust out, preventing Draco from passing Lucius.

"Not so fast," he began. Draco looked back at him, one foot on the bottom stair and one on the ground floor. "I would like to know where you have been for the past several days."

It was a simple question, a simple question that if improperly answered, would have dire consequences.

"I told you," Draco began, his lie ready on his tongue. "I have been working late and Blaise offered for me to stay at his place two nights ago." Draco cursed his quick mind and ability to lie. He was supposed to be coming clean with his father, but that apparently did not happen.

Lucius looked like he was going to fall for the same lie again, hook, line, and sinker, but a flash of fear danced across Draco's face just as his father was about to turn away and he doubled back, disbelief etched into his features.

"Is that so?" he asked. The tone in his voice made it obvious that he was attempting to weasel the truth out of his son.

Draco nodded, but his composure failed him. He nodded a bit too fast; his eyes betrayed him and he fidgeted a tad too much with his fingers. A bad habit he did when he was nervous and it was about to get him into an awful mess.

"Are you lying to me, Draco?"

"No, sir!" the young blonde replied all too quickly.

Lucius was not convinced. "You are lying, tell me," he turned around to be face to face with his only son. "Where have you been for the past several days?"

Draco stepped down from the bottom stair and faced his father. "Out," he replied.

"Out where?"

"With…" he paused. Draco thought he had this answer ready but when he opened his mouth, his mind when blank. "…Friends," he finished unconvincingly.

Lucius raised an eyebrow at his son. "Friends?" It was apparent that he knew his son was hiding a lot of the truth from him. "With what friends?" Lucius was playing mind games with him, and he was not liking it.

"New friends," was his answer.

"Do I know these 'new friends?'" Lucius sounded like he was getting impatient and angry from his son constantly avoiding the simple answer to his questions.

"No," Draco was annoyed with his father's constant barrage of questions and was ready to end the interrogation. "You don't know her."

Mr. Malfoy raised both his eyebrows together at his son's words. "Her?" he asked, quite surprised. "Your new friend is a woman?"

"Yes, she's a woman!" Draco was tired of his father constantly shoving his way into his life and now he suddenly and impulsively decided to just come out with a confession. "And she's a mudblood! Now are you happy? You got the sad truth out of me!"

Lucius knitted his brows together in an ugly frown. "A mudblood? You have been out seeing a mudblood?"

Draco nodded and drew himself up to his full height, circling his father and glaring at him with all the courage and confidence he could muster. "Yes, I have been out with a mudblood and for your information **father**, I am in love with her! How do you like that? You try to force yourself into my life long enough and you get the truth!"

"You lie!" Lucius roared.

"I am not lying. I love Roxanna Porter! If you don't like it, you're going to have to deal with it!"

Draco opened his mouth to say something more but was caught off guard by a blow to the temple by something, hard, cold, and metallic. His hand flew to the side of his face and he looked back up at the livid face of his father. He was holding his cane raised in one had as he glared with hatred down at his son.

"You blood traitor!" he bellowed. "How can you betray your family by falling in with a mudblood!? You are no longer a part of this family; you are no longer worthy of the name Malfoy!"

Draco's anger was rising and he suddenly had more courage than he ever did when speaking to his father. "Fine by me!" he shouted. "I wouldn't want to be a part of this God Forsaken family for much longer anyway! Who would? We're all a bunch of pansies anyway. We hide behind our wealth and our words and pray on the weak! That's only what cowards would do!"

He was caught by surprise again. Lucius had bashed him in the chin with his cane causing Draco to lurch backwards and fall flat on his back onto the cold, marble floor. He felt his chin and was aware of a large bruised bump forming along his jaw.

"Only a coward would beat his own son."

Lucius had heard enough. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his son.

"What are you going to do, father?" Draco asked, a slight smile playing across his lips. "Kill me? I'm sure mum would absolutely **love **that!"

Lucius said nothing in reply, only waved his wand at his son lying on the floor and said: "_Crucio!_"

Draco was immediately engulfed in pain worse than he had ever imagined. Every pore in his body felt like it was on the verge of bursting open to make small open wounds and kill him as slow as possible. He felt like a dozen knives were piercing his skin and digging around in the flesh. He let out a scream and writhed in pain on the marble floor at his father's feet. Draco felt like this was hell, a living hell and he was only vaguely aware of his own screaming until his father released the curse and he was able to breathe again.

He took an enormous breath of air and slowly reached to his pocket to grab his wand. He hoped that his father would not notice his attempt to reach his wand with the intention of defending himself but his hope was in vain. Lucius caught the small movement and instilled the curse on his son once again. The pain was unbearable. It was no small wonder why the curse was illegal. Longbottom's parents had gone mad from the curse used too many times on them by Draco's aunt Bellatrix and he was beginning to think that it would not be long until he ended up with the same fate.

He was screaming again. He only became aware of it when his father had lifted the curse once more. Curious and panting for breath, he raised his head up to see his mother standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at the scene bellow her with a look of complete horror. His father was not looking at him but up at Narcissa. Seizing the opportunity, Draco quickly shoved his hand into his pocket and grabbed his wand. He stood up hoping his father would not notice him but his sudden movement and had put him off and turned around to see Draco making a b-line for the front door.

"Stupify!" Draco cried, the red light shot out of the end of his wand strait for his father who dodged it and the spell narrowly missed Narcissa's head by an inch.

Lucius shot curses at him in return and a jet a blue light caught him in the side, slicing through his skin and causing blood to gush out of the wound. Draco grabbed his side, attempting to block the flow of blood and shot another curse at his father who blocked it and sent a bone-breaking curse back at him. It narrowly missed him over his head and shattered a ceramic vase right next to Draco's face. The clay exploded and slashed up his face and neck.

"Reducto!" Draco yelled, his wand pointing in the general vicinity of the marble stairs. A big, booming explosion blew the stairs apart and blasted Draco away in the direction of the door. Dust littered his vision and filled his lungs. He coughed, and then cringed from the gash in his side. Standing up from being thrown to the floor by the explosion, he staggered a bit, dizzy from an unknown blow to the head and fumbled around for the front door.

He had no idea where his parents were. Everything got jostled around after he had fired off the destruction spell at the stairs. He only hoped that his mother was okay. He could care less about his father.

His hand ran into something big and solid. He groped around for a moment before finding a handle and turning it. The door opened and Draco staggered out of the destroyed entrance hall of the Malfoy Manor and into the open night air. Once out in the open, he was able to see and think clearly. He looked around, the dust from inside poured out onto the grounds and visibility was slowly returning. It would not take long until those inside would be able to see him and, if his father was still alive, would surely go after him.

He had to get out of there. He couldn't run very far with the deep wound in his side and he needed medical attention. His only option was to aparate. But aparate where? Sighing, Draco closed his eyes and spun on the spot, disaparating to the first place that popped into his head.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna tossed and turned under the covers. Sleeping was hard when her mind could not stop talking to her. She hated what she did to Malfoy. She did not want to throw him out, it just happened. As soon as she had slammed the door in his face, she grabbed the entire bowl of cookie dough she had made, crying her heart out as she ate the whole thing raw without even bothering to cook any of it.

She rolled onto her back and sighed. Opening her eyes, she sat up and looked at her clock on her dresser. 11:50. "Ugh, this sucks." Thinking that a glass of milk would help, she stood up and walked to her door only to be interrupted by a light tapping at her window. Turning around, she stared at a large eagle owl perched on the window sill with a letter in its beak. "God, what does he want now?" she wondered aloud. She opened the window and took the letter from the bird's beak. It then flew off into the night after Roxanna had shooed it away.

Figuring no harm would come from reading a letter, she ripped open the seal and read it over. Her eyes widened as her eyes drank up the words on the parchment in her hand. Disbelieving, she read the letter over again, once, twice, three times. It still said the same thing each time. She did not know what her body or mind was doing. She suddenly crumpled up the letter and tossed it across her bedroom.

"Damn it!" she screamed. Her eyes welled up with tears again and she pushed her back against the wall, sinking down to the floor and burying her face in her knees. She sobbed on her floor, shoved into a small corner of her room. Her pajamas were stained at the knees with her salted tears as her sobs seemed to never end. He could not, he **would **not, would he? Did he love her that much? So much that he was willing to go so far as to die for her? She could not believe it, refused to believe it.

Roxanna was crying so hard she almost missed the distinct crack of someone aparating nearby. She raised her head, her eyes red and puffy from her crying, and wiped away the tears that had ran down her cheeks. There was no mistaking that sound. Standing up, she ran down her hallway to her bathroom window that overlooked her front yard. Sliding back the curtain, she cautiously peaked out the window into the snow filled night. Down below her, staggering weakly on her front lawn, was Draco Malfoy, holding his side and looking like he had just gotten in a gang fight.

Roxanna gasped. "Oh my God…" She quickly shut the curtains, ran out of the bathroom and back into her room where she grabbed her first aid kit then rushed down the stairs to the front door. She no longer cared that she was mad at him for what he had done. What is done is done, the past was the past and there was no making up for it, no do-overs in life. She slammed open her front door and ran out to him, wand in one hand and first aid in the other.

He saw her and attempted to walk to her but he was too weak from blood loss and pain. Taking one step, his knees buckled and he collapsed on the spot. Roxanna dropped everything in her hands and caught him before he hit his head on the icy brick walkway. Slowly lowering both of them to the ground, she cradled his head in her lap and scanned over his wounds. There was a huge gash in his side, more tiny gashes than she could count on his face and neck, and two exceedingly large bruises on his chin and brow. He was shaking, every muscle in his body was twitching uncontrollably. He was definitely in worse shape than he looked. Roxanna looked over his wounds in disgust. Was this what a man does to his son?

Malfoy's eyes met hers and he raised a weak and shaking hand to her face and brushed her cheek with his fingers. "I…" he began. Roxanna shook her head, feeling the tears returning and doing her best to push them back. He was dying and she was going to lose him unless she did something.

"I guess…guess he didn't approve." He said it with a smile, but it was apparent from his eyes that he was only trying to make Roxanna feel better. He was far from happy himself. A small part of him had died with his father's anger.

The Irish doctor let out a weak chuckle. "No, I guess he didn't." She held him close as tears leaked past her guard and dripped down onto his wounds. She wished she was a phoenix, if only for when she cried, so she could heal him instantly. Slowly, Malfoy's eyes began to close and Roxanna watched helplessly as he lost consciousness and grew limp in her arms. She almost thought that he had died but knew better when she felt a heartbeat, weak but alive, in his chest. Grabbing the things she had brought out with her, she heaved Malfoy up on her back with much difficulty and dragged his unconscious body inside her house.

Shutting her front door behind her, Roxanna heaved Malfoy into her living room and dropped him on her stuffed armchair. Turning to her couch, she waved her wand and it unfolded itself, converting instantly into a bed. Picking Malfoy back up, she laid him down on the couch/bed, grabbed some blankets from the hall closet and draped them over his sleeping form.

Finally, she examined his wounds. The little cuts in face and neck would heal easily and she ran her wand over them, closing them up and stopping the bleeding immediately. The enormous gash in his side would prove to be a problem. It was made by a curse and would take some time to heal.

Aside from his bruises, Roxanna could not see what else was wrong with him. His external wounds should not have left him this injured and weedy. He must have suffered more than just cuts, scrapes and bruises. Lucius Malfoy must have done something, something terrible and possibly illegal. The Cruciatus Curse quite possibly. It has been known to leave temporary trauma after one has endured it for so long; and if someone has endured it for too long, the curse can leave a permanent stain on one's mind.

For now, Roxanna did as much as she could for him and all that was left was to wait. She still could not sleep and busied herself with playing a video game in the armchair next to the couch Malfoy lay recovering.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Lucius had explained everything to his wife yet she still would not talk to him. Even after learning that her son had fallen in love with a mudblood, she still could not forgive her husband for torturing and attacking their only child. Banned to the guest bedroom by his wife, Lucius lay on his back in bed, wide awake and staring at the ceiling.

Narcissa would never speak to him again if he shunned his son. He had to fix things somehow, but how? It was simple, was it not? All he had to do was find the girl, the mudblood, and get rid of her. Simple, no? Not exactly. Things were not as simple as they were when the Dark Lord was in power. He no longer had his good standing with the Minister or his influence as a Death Eater. One could not just waltz into some mudblood's house and murder them without someone knowing.

Unless…

It was risky, he knew, but it was the only plan, or even a form of a plan that he had. The Dark Wanderers. They were an underground band of former-Death Eater sons and daughters who worked slowly but diligently to further the Dark Lord's legacy. They never took kindly to outsiders, even old Death Eaters like himself were not to be trusted and they would probably kill him on sight if he ever just approached them on the street. It was dangerous, but it had to be done.

Now if only he knew the girl he was going after.

Hold the phone, he did know. Draco had said her name himself during their spat. Was it Roxanna O'Brien? No, Roxanna Porter, it had to be. He had heard the name before, or rather seen it before.

Lucius sat bolt upright. That was it! He had not heard it before, he had seen it! He sprang out of bed, his feet touching the carpeted floor four feet from the edge of the bed. Running out of the room quietly, so as not to wake his wife, he scampered into his study and, shutting the door behind him, he lit the end of his wand and made a b-line for the filing cabinets. Pulling out the bottom drawer, he shifted through each manila folder until he found what he was looking for; a folder labeled "Draconis: Medical".

He thumbed through the papers within the manila folder until he came across the most recent document. His eyes skimmed over the document and did not find what he was looking for until he reached the very bottom. Lucius smiled sadistically. There was the name; Roxanna Porter. She was the healer that had attended to Draco when he had been attacked with a bone breaker curse. This was perfect! All he had to do was go to the Hall of Records at the ministry and find out where she lived and nab a photo of her as well. Then he was set to meet with The Dark Wanderers.

Placing the folder neatly back where he had removed it, Lucius shut the drawer and walked back to the guest bedroom. He plopped his body down on the mattress, pulled the sheets over himself, and fell right to sleep. He could rest easy knowing he was going to get his wife and his son back within only a few days.

XX0XX0XX0XX

_Damn, this place is huge, _Lucius thought as he snuck into the Hall of Records. It was five in the afternoon and he had just finished up work early. Steeling through the gigantic room on level four of the Ministry of Magic, he made his way to the section labeled "St. Mungo's staff" and scanned the labels of the fat binders that littered the shelves. _Aha! _His fingers fell on a two-inch thick binder with the name "Porter" written down the side. He pulled it out, opened it and immediately came to the page he wanted. Quickly reading and committing the address to memory, he flipped through the binder again and stole a small photograph from the back flap along with a few documents for good measure.

Lucius silently put the binder back in its place and swiftly left the Hall. Taking the lift back up to the main hall, he went though the flu network to a place he had not been in many years.

Knockturn Alley appeared before his eyes as he stepped out into the shady street. He had vague idea of where to look, a general area, but it was not fool proof. He knew he would look suspicious creeping through alleyways, but it was the only way he could find them.

Lucius spent half an hour looking for The Dark Wanderer's meeting place, and still he came up short. It was not until he came across a small wooden door in the side of a building he had never noticed was there before with a small house elf standing in front of it.

"You! Elf!" Lucius said in a stern, yet quiet voice. The elf jumped and whimpered when he saw Lucius stalking towards it, pointing a demanding finger. "What is behind this door?" The elf only cowered before him, tears spilling out of its tennis ball-sized eyes. Its master must have told it to say nothing when asked the question Lucius had just asked. Not a very good way of deterring strangers. It was obvious what was behind the door and it was now or never. Removing his wand from the end of his cane, he pointed the end at the small door and it swung open with just a spell muttered silently in his mind.

Ignoring the elf that was now curled up in the fetal position against the wall of the building, Lucius placed his wand back in its concealed place in his cane and, putting on his best business-like face, he strode inside the small, candlelit room as if he was out for an afternoon stroll on his way to get tea with his wife.

"Good afternoon." About ten cloaked and hooded figures stood around a dusty, wooden table in the middle of the room, each hooded head had turned to look at Lucius as he entered the room. The tallest of the group was the first one to gain his voice back and spoke sharply to their intruder.

"Who, may I ask, has so unceremoniously interrupted out meeting?"

Lucius smiled, holding his cane at his side, ready to pull out his wand when, and if, needed. "The name is Lucius Malfoy and I have a business proposition for your little group."

The tall man reached up and removed his hood to reveal a sharp face, strong jaw and nose, with small, calculating brown eyes. His hair was short and mousy with slight curls at the back of the neck. "What kind of business proposition do you have for The Dark Wanderers, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Please," Lucius said, raising a black-gloved hand. "For the purpose of this informal meeting, call me Lucius."

The Brown-haired man raised a thick, bushy eyebrow but made no comment on the request. "And you may call me Ben. Now, may I first ask who you are to us and why we should not just kill you for barging in on us uninvited?"

Lucius's smile never faltered. "You must know that the Malfoy family has been loyal to the Dark Lord for many years." Lifting his left arm, he pulled the sleeve back far enough to reveal a considerably faded Dark Mark tattooed on his forearm. "That should be sufficient enough."

Ben stood in silence for several minutes before nodded and gesturing for Lucius to join them at the edge of the table. He obliged and stepped up to stand next to the unhooded man. "Very well, what is the proposition you have for us?"

Lucius pulled out the papers and the photo he had taken from the Hall of Records in the Ministry only hours before hand. Tossing them on the table, he looked up at the group surrounding him and smiled. "I have a little mudblood problem. It seems my son has decided to toss away his family fortune in exchange for the love of one dirty-blooded woman."

A hooded figure to his right reached out and grabbed the documents he had tossed on the table while Ben took the photo. They both studied the items for a few seconds before either one spoke.

"Roxanna Porter, occupation: Healer," said the hooded figure.

"A red-head…with green eyes. Those are pretty rare these days." Ben tossed the photograph back on the table. "She should not be too difficult to find."

"Her address is written here, boss," the hooded man to Lucius's right stated, pointing at the document in his hand.

Ben nodded. "Very well, we shall scope the place out and study her schedule before we act." He turned to Lucius. "How would you like her taken care of?"

"Anyway you like but on two conditions." Ben said nothing, waiting for the man to state his claims. "I help and you do not kill her."

The boss pursed his lips and bobbed his head as if he were contemplating the words he had just heard. Lucius watched the man's face and failed to notice the man behind him pull out a wand.

"Very well, you have our full cooperation." Ben made a slight nod behind Lucius who turned around, slightly confused only to find the point of a wand in his face.

"So sorry, Lucius," he heard Ben say behind his back. "But I'm afraid we can only oblige to one of you conditions." Too distracted to do anything, it was too late for him even as he pulled out his own wand from his cane he carried at his side.

_"Imperio!"_

**A/N: Yeah, The Dark Wanderers. About that...I needed a name for them as I was writing this and it was the first thing that came to my mind. **

**Don't you just love the chapter name!? Doesn't it just fit perfectly with what happens? It's amazazing!**

**REVIEW DAMN YOU!!!! I KEEEELL!!!!!**


	8. Chapter 7: Voodoo

**A/N: MAJOR SAINTS ROW 2 SPOILERS!! If you have not played the game, I'm sorry, but I had to, I love that game too much.**

**This chapter name has many meanings, you can guess if you want, but I will tell you all in the last chapter.**

Chapter 7---------Voodoo

He heard voices. He could not see who or where the voices came from; his world was black. There was a laps in the voices in which he heard several loud bangs go off in a hail of…something. After a few seconds, the voices, or rather one voice, returned.

"Run Benny! Get inside!" Who was Benny? Was someone fighting around him? Was he in Hell? Was he dead? "Hey! Don't shut that door! Don't you shut that door!" Shut what door? What was going on?

Suddenly Draco became vaguely aware of something draped over his body and something soft and spongy underneath his head. His eyelids twitched and he slowly blinked them open. He was lying in a bed with very soft sheets and large, fluffy pillow cushioning his head. He looked straight ahead of him and his eyes met with a very bright light. He cringed and quickly shut his eyes again. His head was in severe pain. Must have been whatever hit it after the marble stairs at his father's house exploded. Whatever it was gave him the worst headache of his life.

Cautiously, he tried opening his eyes again, this time slowly as he attempted to sit up. As soon as he even tried to use his abdominal muscles, a sharp, searing pain shot through his side. He grunted and fell back down in the pillows, one hand grabbing his throbbing head and the other on his still painful torso. What the hell happened to him?

The voices and bangs stopped. Suddenly it was quiet but a new voice was added in.

"Draco!" It was a woman's voice. He had heard it before and it sounded familiar but for some reason he could not place it. "Oh, thank God, you're awake!"

He felt pressure on the mattress he was laying on to his left. Blinking again, his vision blurred a bit before returning to normal. He saw the outline of a woman with long hair crawl up on the bed next to him, then the face became clearer and he recognized her as Roxanna Porter. He could not help but let a smile creep past his defenses. She was here, which meant he was alive, safe and healing.

Draco looked up into her green eyes. They were sad, red, and puffy from crying. A thought came to him that he had to ask her.

"How long have I been out for?" he asked with a raspy voice. The dust from the destroyed staircase must have really gotten into his system.

Roxanna sighed. "About a week, maybe five or six days." Draco raised his eyebrows at her statement. Was it really that long? "I can't really say for sure, I lost track after day two."

Draco let out a small chuckle but as soon as he did, he cringed from the pain in his side. "Ow…" he said through gritted teeth. "Maybe I shouldn't laugh."

The corner of Roxanna's mouth curved up in a have smile. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea." She stood up and walked around the bed to Draco's right side. Getting down on her knees, she lifted the blankets that covered his body and lightly poked at his wound. He bit his lip to distract himself from the pain of her fingers nudging his bandages. "Looks like it's healing nicely, but you do need to be careful. The wound may almost be closed, but if you're not careful, it could still open up."

"Yeah, good idea," he forced out, still biting his bottom lip. "Just don't touch it again, please."

"Oh, jeez! I'm sorry!" She seemed surprised that she had hurt him. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just checking to see how it was healing!"

Draco released his lip and smiled up at her. She had gotten back to her feet and was fiddling with her hands nervously. "Understandable. Just, please don't do it again." She nodded. "Well, then." He turned to face in front of him again but closed his eyes slightly to dim the brightness of the light above him. "Could you help me sit up?"

She obliged without saying a word aside from the occasional "Careful," or "Sorry, are you okay?" With some difficulty and the help of Roxanna, Draco managed to sit up and prop himself against the back of the couch/bed. Now looking straight across the room, he saw the source of the voices that he had heard just a few minutes before. The big black box he had seen before was no longer plain black. There were people inside it, people in the desert with large, strange weapons in their hands. One man wore muggle clothing and was unarmed, where the others were on horseback and had on strange robes that Draco had never seen before. Breathing as deep as he could and as rapidly as he could to distract his mind from the pain, he nodded his head towards the box.

"Rox, what it that thing?" he asked, pointing at the box across the room.

She turned her head to look at it. "Oh, that's a television!" she said, smiling. "It's something one can watch movies and play video games on."

Draco raised a questioning eyebrow at her, unsure of what she meant.

She moved her lips thoughtfully. "Here," she said, walking around the bed to the armchair she must have been sitting in before he woke up. Picking up a plastic object from the chair, she pointed it at the television and pressed one of the many buttons the object had on it. The people on the television began to move and sound ensued from it. Draco jumped from surprise and cringed from the pain of his wound. "It's kind of like a play, but not really. It's much more realistic." She hit another button several times and the sound from the television grew quieter. "I guess you could say it's a type of muggle magic, though they don't really have magic."

Draco nodded. "I see. It's like how the muggles have electricity, right?"

"Well, yes," Roxanna agreed. "This television is run by electricity. It's just channeled differently than light bulbs and fans."

Draco was silent for a moment before speaking again. "So what movie, or play are you watching here?" he asked.

Roxanna smiled and turned the volume back up. "The Mummy," she replied. "It's one of my favorites and actually deals with ancient Egyptian dark magic. They end up bringing the evil High Priest Imhotep back to life and have to stop him from destroying the world. It's an adventure comedy movie."

Draco said nothing as a gigantic screaming face was carved out of the sand and the men on horseback rode off, frightened. The one that was unarmed was forced to wander the desert alone. They continued watching the movie for a while until the part where the woman, Evie, and her brother Jonathan meet the man from the desert in an Egyptian jail when Roxanna turned around in her chair to look at Draco.

"Are you hungry? It is about supper time."

Draco leaned his throbbing head back against the pillows he was propped up against. He smiled. "What did you have planned?"

Roxanna shrugged. "I don't know," she said, pausing the movie. "I have a frozen pizza my friend in America gave me last time I was visiting her. I can cook that."

He turned his head to his left slightly and looked at the red-head. "Sounds good. I've never had pizza."

Roxanna clapped her hands and rubbed them together, getting to her feet, she walked towards the kitchen smiling. "Then it's decided. Pizza it is." He watched her leave the room and return several minutes later carrying a large, round, pizza on a large pan. "Pepperoni is most people's favorite but if you don't like it, you can pick them off and give them to me, I'll eat them." He nodded as she pulled out a slice and handed it to him on a plate. She then set the whole pie on the bed next to him.

It was interesting. It was bread, tomato sauce, and cheese all in one, something he had never tasted before. It must have been the pepperoni that added the extra spice to it, something that Draco did not like. Unfortunately, when he tried to peel them off, the cheese went with it. He did his best to keep the cheese on the pizza but had to bite some of the remaining bits off before he set the pepperoni on his plate.

They finished watching the movie while eating their pizza and once they finished eating, Roxanna paused the movie and made Draco drink a healing potion that made him a bit drowsy and he fell asleep before the movie even finished. Roxanna cleaned up the kitchen and living room after the movie was over and then went to bed herself. All this time, neither of them knew they were being watched.

XX0XX0XX0XX

"What do you think, boss?" a hooded figure asked the tall, brunette man standing next to him. He was standing in the shadows, his arms crossed and staring at the lit windows of the house in front of him. The man was silent as he watched the woman inside give the man in the bed a potion that he swallowed begrudgingly. "Boss?" the hooded man repeated, not sure if the tall man had heard him.

"The girl is good," he said to no one in particular. "She has him practically fully healed in almost a week. She truly is a skilled healer as her file says." The woods near the house were quiet aside from a few crickets chirping in the distance. After a long stretch of silence, the tall, brown-haired man turned his head back to his companion. "Prepare the clan." He turned to look back at the house. "We attack in two days."

XX0XX0XX0XX

It had been a couple days since Malfoy had woken up and he was now recovering very well. Only a week and he was already sitting up and walking on his own. He was still in pain, that much was evident. He tried to hide it from her, but she could tell by the look in his eyes and the slight twitch of his body that it hurt him to move. She always made him drink the healing potion no matter how much he insisted that he did not need it. He took it reluctantly and gulped it down as if it were a chugging contest.

Malfoy sat on the edge of his bed, a game controller in his hands, and staring intently at the television screen. After the movie, he had wanted to know what else the television could do. Roxanna had shown him her X-Box 360 and PS2 as well as several games she owned such as Final Fantasy, Saints Row 1 and 2, Army of Two, and Jak 3. Every day after that, his hands had been glued to the controllers and he frustratingly flew through each game. He would always force Roxanna to play Army of Two with him, complaining that the "built-in" player was incompetent.

Today he was playing Saints Row 2 with a character that looked a lot like himself with an added deep, English-accented voice. Roxanna walked into the living room with two plates of supper for both of them. "I brought you dinner," she said as she sat down next to him on the bed. He paused the game and took the plate of steak, carrots, and baked potatoes from her hand and thanked her.

They ate in silence before Roxanna looked at the screen and asked: "What missions are you doing?"

Malfoy finished chewing and swallowing a large chunk of steak before answering. "The Ronin. I've just gotten to the part where they fight at Ayesha's funeral."

Roxanna smiled and took a sip of the wine she had poured for the both of them. "Those are my favorite missions. The Sons of Samedi annoy the fuck out of me." She took another sip of her wine. "Fucking voodoo masters."

"Yeah, that kind of magic creeps me out." He set down his now half empty plate and picked up his controller again. "Human manipulation by a creepy doll is just weird."

Roxanna finished her meal and went back into the kitchen to clean up. She finished half of the cleaning and then went back into the living room to take Malfoy's now empty plate and wine glass. She was just putting away the last of the dishes in a cabinet above the sink when she heard a loud bang come from near the living room. She let out a cry and covered her head by instinct.

Gripping her wand tightly in her hand, she jogged into the next room only to see Malfoy face to face five hooded figures.

"What the **hell**!?" she yelled, complete confusion sounding in her voice.

Malfoy whipped around at the sound of her voice. His face was frantic. He knew what was happening but now was not the time for useless questions. Now was the time for quick thinking.

There was another loud bang and two more hooded figures busted through her front door. She screamed and almost dropped her wand. Malfoy quickly grabbed his own wand off the coffee table in the living room and grabbed Roxanna's hand. He grabbed the back of her head and yelled "Duck!" before pulling her down to the floor just as all the hooded figures in the room raised their wands and fired a silent spell at the two of them. Crouched low, Malfoy gripped her hand and pulled her out of the room to the hallway just off of the room. They slammed against the wall just as more curses flew at them, shattering the plaster and picture frames at their backs.

"Oh shit, Draco!" Roxanna cried. "What the hell is going on?" Malfoy did not answer but fired more silent curses around the corner. She heard a yelp and the distinct sound of someone's bones breaking. Bright yellow sparks flew past his head, just barely missing him as he quickly withdrew behind the wall. There was a loud thump and Roxanna knew that her armchair had been knocked over when she heard another yelp and a thunk meaning someone had tripped and fallen to the floor. "Oh, God, what are we going to do?" She was frantic and scared out of her mind. She had no idea what was going on and was unsure how they were going to fight off seven dangerous men when there was only two of them, and one injured. "Draco, what's going on, what are we going to do?"

Clearly this was the first time Roxanna had frozen at the sight of danger. She had fought her sixth year at Hogwarts to repel the Death Eaters who had infiltrated the school and she had fought her seventh year in the final battle against Lord Voldemort. Never had she once frozen up from fear in either of those battles. Why now? Why this situation? Why the moment when she had the need to defend herself the most?

Malfoy fired another curse around the corner and ducked behind the wall and three jets of light in three different colors flew past his head, nearly missing him once again. He stopped and stared at the woman next to him, the woman he was fighting to protect. It was apparent in his eyes that he knew their fight was hopeless. There was just too many of them to fight off. Eventually the hooded people would get past their guard and surround them in the hallway. Roxanna tried to aparate out but something was blocking her. Someone had put a counter aparation charm on her home.

She stared into his eyes in return. They both knew what had to be done but only Malfoy had the heart to say it. "They're after you, Roxanna. There's nothing we can do here." He turned to fire several more curses and spells back into the living room then ducked back into the hallway.

"How are we going to get out of here?" she asked. "We can't aparate. One of them," she nodded towards the living room. "Saw to that."

Malfoy paused to take a peek around the corner and fire off a few more spells. Returning back to the hallway, he sighed. "They've blocked the back door and the front door is blocked by one extra man." He stopped talking and looked into the green eyes of the woman he loved as if he were expecting her to read his mind.

"No, Drake **no!**" Roxanna shook her head and grabbed his arm. "You can't! They'll kill you!" She saw one of their attackers sneaking around the corner to get to them and without thinking, she raised her wand and shouted: "Stupify!" Red light flew from her wand and hit the man square in the forehead. He lurched backwards and fell to the floor unconscious.

Malfoy looked back, surprised, but then shook it off and turned back to Roxanna. She was shaking from fear. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, her lip quivering. "I'm sorry, Rox, but this is the only way we can get out of here. I've got to." He reached out and grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her closer to him, he shoved his lips onto hers in a rough, passionate kiss. Pulling away, he held her face in his palm as he looked her directly in her eyes. "Just remember that no matter what happens, I will find you. Remember that I love, Roxanna."

He held her, still staring at her waiting for an answer. She gulped and finally, she nodded and he put his forehead to hers. "Just come back," she said. "Come back."

"I will." That said, he turned to face the living room and shoved her behind him. "Remember, stay behind me and get to the front door. Once there, the guy guarding it is up to you. Think you can take him out?"

Again, she nodded. Smiling, Malfoy gripped his wand in one hand and Roxanna's hand in the other. They bolted out from behind the hallway wall and made a b-line for the front door. Malfoy provided a shield for Roxanna, keeping her behind him and firing curses, spells, and charms alike at their attackers while she ran crouched behind his back.

The heavy, wooden front door seemed too far away. It felt like they would never reach it in time. For every step they took, it seemed that the front door moved two steps away from them. It was an eternity of exploding glass, pots, and vases, knocked over furniture and destroyed cushions. Finally, they reached the door and Roxanna wrenched it open. There stood a single hooded figure, a nine-inch wand in their left hand. The red-head raised a shaking hand, pointing her wand the person standing in front of her. She fired of a silent spell which missed but knocked off the person's hood. It was a woman, Roxanna could have sworn the face under the hood was a man. She was pretty with dark hair, pale skin and thin, Chinese eyes. She looked like she could be Cho Chang's mother. But Roxanna knew better. Using the woman's stunned surprise at losing her hood, she raised her wand once more and shouted: "Stupify!"

The spell hit the woman in the chest, knocking her to the ground. Roxanna stared down at the woman before Malfoy came up behind her and pushed her forward. "Run, Roxanna!" he yelled. She stumbled forward and nearly tripped over the woman in front of her before sprinting for the woods surrounding her house.

She had not been running for very long before she heard a cry from the door she had just come from. Spinning around, she looked back at the house to see Malfoy topple to the ground at the feet of a rather tall, rather muscular hooded man.

"Draco!" she screamed. She was about to run back for him when Malfoy looked up from the ground, his face full of fear.

"No! Run, Roxanna!" he yelled after her. "Run! Get out of here!" When she did not move, he yelled even louder, almost furiously. "Go, **now**!"

Reluctantly, she turned around and bolted for the forest. Fresh tears ran down her face. How could she have just left him? Easy, he asked her to. But should she not still have helped him? He was in trouble, dying, if not already dead. He had saved her, risked his life to save her and she just left him there. But what could she have done? Nothing. There was nothing she could have done to help him. She had to continuously tell herself that she was doing the right thing. Malfoy had sacrificed himself to save her and going back there and getting herself killed for him was not a good was to repay him. She knew what she had to do now, and that was survive. She had to find some way to get away from her house and get to friends.

Roxanna was so caught up in her own thoughts that she failed to notice the unearthed tree root that was getting dangerously close to her. Her toe caught underneath the root and she fell face down in the leafy dirt of the forest. Her wand flew out of her hand upon collision with the ground and she momentarily lost track of everything around her. Pushing herself off the ground, she tried to stand but a sharp pain in her knee told her not to. Sitting down on the ground, she squeezed her knee in a few places to find out what she did. Deciding that it was only a sprain, she then started looking around in the dark for her wand.

Suddenly a whiff of black smoke rose up around her and reformed as a man in front of her. Roxanna gave a yelp of surprise as she watched Lucius Malfoy materialize before her eyes. He smiled and held her wand out in front of him with his own wand pointing directly at her heart.

"I'm sorry, miss." He said, a slight hint of arrogance in his voice. "Were you looking for this?"

She made a small attempt to grab it back but Lucius withdrew it back away from her and forced his own wand in her direction.

"Ah-ah!" He shoved her wand inside his robes. "I would not be too hasty, we do not like that very much."

Roxanna jumped at the sound of twigs snapping in the bushes. She spun around to see two more hooded wizards crawling out of the bushes towards her. They were waiting for her. They knew where she was going, knew the plan from the very beginning. She was surrounded again and that was not the worst of it, the enemy held the only means she had of defending herself.

"Please," she begged. "Please, don't hurt me." Hot tears dripped down her face as she stared death in the face.

Lucius cocked his head to the side slightly, a small smirk playing across his face. "Oh, I assure you, we have no intention of **hurting **you, Miss Porter." He emphasized the word "hurt" as if it was something funny someone said. "But we have every intention of **torturing **you before we kill you." His wand was steady and firm as her muttered one word: "Stupify."

The red sparks hit her square in the chest and she was knocked unconscious before she even felt her body hitting the ground with a thud.

XX0XX0XX0XX

"Okay, so we're just going to pop in, wish her happy birthday, eat cake, hang out for a while and then leave?" Ron Weasley asked the other three as they walked down the street towards Roxanna Porter's house.

"Yes, Ron! For God's sake would you stop worrying about this?" Hermione snapped at her husband. Ron's ears turned pink when he saw his wife's angry look. "You'll get enough sleep before work tomorrow and she will be delighted to see us, so stop asking all these useless questions!"

The woods were silent that night. Not even the crickets were chirping and Harry had an eerie feeling creep over him that made the hair on the back of his neck rise. Something was wrong, but he did not know what. They rounded the corner and continued down Roxanna's road until they came across the third house down.

The downstairs windows were busted out, the paint was cracked and chipped as if it had been hit with spells and the front door was busted off its hinges and lying in the snow in the front lawn.

"Oh, shit!" Ginny cried and she and Hermione were the first ones to rush in with their wands raised. Ron and Harry were more cautious. Ron set the cake he was holding down on the sidewalk and pulled out his wand after Harry. They both slowly approached the house and stepped inside. The lights were out, the bulbs busted by poorly-aimed spells or curses no doubt. Plaster dust littered the floor along with glass, wood and to Harry's horror, blood. Something, or someone happened here, but what?

"Harry! Ron! Get over here!" It was Ginny, she was yelling from the living room. Both he and his best friend bolted from the kitchen to the next room, both their faces hopeful. Their hopes were dashed when they saw what Ron's sister was leaning over. It was Malfoy, laying unconscious and bleeding on the floor. What was he doing here? Had Harry not told him to stay away from Roxanna? He was the reason this had happened, he knew it and he was going to make him pay for what he did.

"I think he's coming round!" Hermione said in surprise. She was right, the blonde's body began to stir and reach for the wound on his shoulder. Ginny helped him to a sitting position and yelled at her brother to get wet paper towels from the kitchen. He unwillingly obeyed and disappeared from the room for only a moment, returning with four dripping paper towels in his hands. He handed them to his sister who mopped up the deep wound on Malfoy's shoulder and he groggily looked around at those around him.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice cracked and broken.

Harry was having great difficulty retaining his anger at the wounded man in front of him. He could not restrain the malice in his voice as he responded to his long-time rival's question.

"I was hoping you could tell us, Malfoy."

**A/N: Well then, that was interesting. And long. I do hope you liked it and continue reading when I get the next chapter up (it's already finished, I just like to wait a bit before putting it up). I might not finish the last two chapters for a while because I'm behind on my school work and I have to study for a few exams. Just be patient with me, college is not everything television makes it out to be. Ugh, I've got so much work to do...**

**REVIEW!!!! Or I will finish the story and not post the last couple of chapters jsut to torture you!!! Ah-hahahhahahahah!!! Yes, I am that cruel! )**


	9. Chapter 8: The Kinslayer

**A/N: This one took a while to write (provided it is rather long). It's one of my favorites so I do hope you enjoy it. **

**The last two chapters might take a while before I get them up 'cause I've been behind on school work and suddenly I want to write a story for Oliver Wood (and call me weird but I also want to write a story for Veck Sims from Paul Blart: Mall Cop). So I'm kinda jumping around at the moment. Be patient! They'll be up soon!**

Chapter 8-----The Kinslayer

Draco's vision was blurred. He was dizzy and he swaggered where he sat. He suddenly felt his shirt ripped apart at the shoulder and a cold towel pressed against a warm wound. Who found him? Who was it that was talking to him? He could not remember how he came to be as he was. And decided he would ask.

"What happened?" His voice was raspy and cut in and out. He heard someone answer him but could not make out whom it was.

"I was hoping you could tell us, Malfoy."

He felt his jaw being pried open and cold water being poured down his throat. He coughed and spluttered and half of the water fell out of his mouth in cascades. The water came again but this time he was able to keep it down and he downed the water as if he had not had a single thing to drink for days. He was so dehydrated he downed the glass of water in two large gulps. He coughed again once the glass was empty and blinked several times in order to clear his vision. He saw four figures, one kneeling next to him and the other three standing above him. He knew who they were just by their outlines. He gulped. He knew what was coming. The whole situation was going to be taken the wrong way and without Roxanna, there was no telling how the argument as going to end up.

"I…" His raspy voice wavered as he tried to recall what had happened before he was knocked unconscious. "I'm trying to remember." He grabbed his head, his hands squeezed into fists, digging through his brain for the unpleasant memory. "I…I was playing…a game." His eyes were squeezed shut as if closing them would help. "They came, burst through the back door. Then the front door. They attacked us, cornered us in the hallway. We ran for it, forced our way through the front door. She got out first, then me, but something caught the back of my shirt." He shook his head and looked around the room, studying the destruction of the house to help him narrate. "One of them hit me with a curse and I fell to the ground in the doorway. I heard her cry and looked up to see three more of our attackers close in on her and I told her to run. She did, right into the forest, and I was dragged back into the house." He looked up at the three around him. They were still slightly blurry but he could tell who was who and what expressions they made. Potter was angry, Weasley was confused, The Weasley girl was next to him, mopping up the blood on his shoulder, and Granger looked positively astonished. "I can't remember what they did to me, only that it was quick and very painful."

Draco hoped they believed him, but by the looks on their faces, they obviously did not.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna blinked her eyes several times before coming to. She was cold and she looked around and realized that she was lying in the snow of a graveyard. Sitting up with a start, she looked around, bemused with how she got there. Standing up, she walked around, trying to figure out where exactly she was. She shivered as she read some of the headstones. The long sleeved shirt she wore did nothing to keep the cold from biting her skin. She turned at the sight of a very plain, very boring headstone. It was odd to see it there seeing as all the other headstones were intricately carved sculptures of angels, demons and creatures.

She crossed her arms and rubbed her sides to keep warm as she cocked her head to the side and read the lettering carved into the stone.

_Tom Marvolo Riddle._

She gasped and jumped back from the headstone. She knew that name. Harry had told her about it. That was the real name of the Dark Lord Voldemort! She remembered now, remembered what happened at her house, what happened to Malfoy, and what brought her here. A chill ran up her spine that had absolutely nothing to do with the snow that fell around her.

"Chilling, isn't it?" A cold, evil voice sounded from behind her that made her jump and spin around to face the tall, muscular man that had taken out Malfoy. "You, a mudblood, standing on the spot where the man that caused your kind so much grief and suffering is buried. You must be frightened, or perhaps glad?" He shifted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes as if her were contemplating what was on her mind.

Roxanna shook her head. "Not really, it was just a bit surprising, that's all."

The man smiled and removed his hood to show his short, and slightly curly brown hair. "Surprising? Yes, I guess you could say it is surprising." The tall man took out a wand and pointed it at the red-head. Suddenly, loud cracks sounded all around her and she saw several of the hooded witches and wizards that had attacked her house aparate all around the graveyard, surrounding her. "You could say it is surprising when you find out what we have planned for you here."

Roxanna's eyes widened as each one of the hooded wizards raised their wands and prepared to lay their curses on her.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Harry was furious. He grabbed Malfoy by the collar of his shirt, lifted him to his feet and slammed the injured man against the wall.

"Harry!" Ginny cried. "What are you doing?"

Harry did not answer her, but yelled at the man who cringed from the collision with the busted wall. "You **lie**!" he growled. "Tell us the truth! What happened to Roxanna!?"

Malfoy's head bobbed to the side. He was dizzy from loss of blood and pain. "I told you…" he half spoke, half whispered. "I don't know."

Harry's rage was getting the best of him like it did so many times before. "Stop FUCKING lying, Malfoy! Give us the truth or I will give you more pain than anyone can do to you!"

Malfoy was on the brink of passing out again but he managed to add in a few more words. "I'm not…lying." His voice was a whisper hardly audible to even Harry whose ears were inches from Malfoy's barely moving lips. "You can…use legilamency on me…if you need, or veritrasirum."

Harry had a hard time believing what he was hearing. Was the man really willing to have veritrasirum or legillamency used on him? The guy was crazy. He would not let Malfoy go, however, until her heard Hermione speak calmly behind him.

"Harry, maybe he really is telling the truth." Harry slowly turned his head to look at her. "Maybe we should listen to him for once."

He said nothing, but released Malfoy and set him gently back down on the dusty carpeted floor. He sat down cross-legged across from the out-of-focus blonde. "Very well, tell us what you do know, in detail."

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna sat curled up in the fetal position against Voldemort's headstone. She was shaking from more than the cold. She was in pain, those people, those monsters were mad. They were sadistic, cruel, and evil. They had no conscience and took every precaution to make sure she could not escape. A counter-aparation charm had been place upon the graveyard so she could not leave that way and her legs had a paralitical spell put on them so she could not run.

She was left alone with her wand. She had no idea why but her torturers were not there, they were nowhere to be seen. This must have been another way of torturing her. Leave her with her wand and watch her go crazy with the inability to escape.

She stared at her wand for several minutes, contemplating what she could do with it. Finally, after about half an hour of staring at her wand, and idea came to her. Her patronus. How could she have not thought of it before? Harry would know what to do. He, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were always there to help her in her times of need, so why not now?

Picking up her wand from the cold snow, she imagined her happy thought in her mind vividly. She saw her family and herself when she was six playing in a lake in Arizona with her friend Stella and her family. Roxanna's favorite vacation, back when she and her parents were still family. She smiled and raised her wand. "Expecto Partronum!" she yelled. Immediately, a great big, silver jaguar burst from the tip of her wand and ran around her once before walking up to its master, awaiting its orders.

She stroked its snout and it purred slightly before she waved her wand towards the forest that surrounded the graveyard. "Go find Harry Potter and tell him I'm in the graveyard of Voldemort. I'm in danger!"

The patronus jaguar flicked its tail in agreement and cantered off into the forest out of sight. She hoped they had found Malfoy and did not rail on him too much. She hoped he was still alive and was with Harry when he received her message.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Harry watched as Malfoy forced himself to his feet. He swayed where he stood but remained standing and soon attempted to walk. His knees buckled and he collapsed back down to the floor.

"Malfoy, why don't you have one of us help you?" Hermione asked. "You're still too weak to walk."

The man shook his head and waved her off. "No, I can get this." He forced himself up again, his knees wobbling with the strain of holding his weight up but then stiffened when he was up at his full height. Taking a deep breath, he took another step, this time staying up, and smiled. Taking another step, his endurance ran out and he fell back to floor. "On second thought, I think I will need assistance."

Ginny was about to help him back to his feet, but Harry walked past her, slung Malfoy's arm over his shoulder and hoisted the blonde man to his feet.

"Thank you," Malfoy whispered, his head bowed and staring at his feet.

Harry refused to look at him as they made their way to the front door, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny behind them. "Forget about it," he said emotionlessly.

Once outside, Malfoy pointed to the forest across the street from Roxanna's house. "She ran in there. We can start by following her footsteps and find out what happened to her."

No one said a word, only nodded and walked to the forest's edge. They spread out, searching the edge for Roxanna's footprints. Each one of them had their wands out, the end lit up for extra light. They searched for an hour until Harry heard his wife call out from his right. "I found them! Roxanna ran this way!"

Harry noticed Malfoy's head snap up when he heard Ginny's claim. What was with this guy? Why was he so interested in Roxanna Porter? Regardless of his confusion, Harry helped the blonde turn around and walk in the direction of Ginny's voice. They found her near a big patch of bushes that hid a small dog path leading into the forest.

"The prints are small, smaller than the three others around here," she said, pushing back the bushes to show her husband, brother, and sister-in-law the foot prints. "They must have chased her through here."

Harry nodded. "Then we follow them. It may be hopeless, but they just might lead us to her or her captors." Everyone agreed and they all entered the forest. Malfoy was remaining surprisingly silent throughout the whole ordeal. Harry did not pay attention too much to him aside from the fact that he had to help the man walk. He was getting stronger with every step he took and soon, he was practically walking by himself yet he did not reject Harry's help.

They continued through the forest, Ron in the lead, watching the footprints for any sign of change. After fifteen minutes of walking, Ron stopped them in the middle of a clearing near an unearthed tree root.

"This is where she stopped running," he said, pointing at the tree root. "She must have tripped and fallen here and that's how they caught up to her."

"Damn!" Malfoy cried. "They must have aparated her out of here. They could be anywhere by now!" Shoving Harry aside, he ran over to the spot where the unearthed root was and studied the disheveled snow beside it. "Damn it!" He swung his fist to the side and hit the tree next to him, the tree that the root belonged to. "God damn it! Why!?" The others said nothing, just watched as Malfoy screamed at the tree. Harry was so confused at Malfoy's behavior that he almost did not notice the silver light growing brighter in the distance as if it were getting closer.

He squinted and adjusted his glasses. Straining to see what was causing the light, he studied the bright object that was suspiciously in an animal form. It came, or walked, closer towards him. When the silver animal was close enough for him to touch, he finally realized what it was; Roxanna's jaguar patronus. Harry reached out a hand to touch it but it opened its mouth as if it were going to bite his fingers off and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"I'm in the graveyard of Voldemort. I'm in danger!" The silver jaguar spoke with Roxanna's voice before turning around and running back into the depths of the forest. Harry's mouth hung agape as he continued to stare after the silver jaguar long after it was gone. The graveyard of Voldemort? That was all the way up in northern Scotland! But why there? Why would her attackers bring her there? He was so lost in his thoughts, he almost missed Malfoy pulling out his own wand and letting out his own patronus.

A great big silver polar bear jumped out of Malfoy's wand. It got up on its back legs then landed back to the ground without a sound. Harry was at a loss for words. He had never seen Malfoy's patronus before but never imagined it to be a polar bear. Out of all the possibilities, it had to be a polar bear. It just did not seem right, but yet it did at the same time. He did not hear what the blonde said to it before the silver bear snuffed and bounded off through the forest after the jaguar.

Then it clicked.

Polar bears were Roxanna's favorite animal.

Malfoy was in love with Roxanna.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna opened her eyes to a bright, silver light. She smiled when she saw what it was. A great silver polar bear walked out of the forest into the graveyard towards her. She coaxed to her as it sniffed their air cautiously. When it was near enough to her, she reached out her hand and scratched behind its ears. It felt warm, soothing, and happy. She half expected to feel the soft fur under her fingers but knew better than to expect such things from a patronus.

"You're alive," she said, smiling. "Did you get my message?"

The silver bear nodded and opened its mouth to speak. "Roxanna, thank God you're alive! Don't worry, we're on our way." It spoke with Malfoy's voice and just the sound of it sent a feeling of relief through her body. We, he said we. That means he was not alone. Harry was with him.

Her arm drooped and fell to her side. The silver polar bear, thinking she was done, turned and walked back into the forest, leaving her alone once again.

"I was curious to see what you would do with your wand, seeing as you can't go anywhere, and I must say, I'm impressed!" Roxanna jumped at the sound of the cold voice. She turned around to see the tall, brown-haired man that had knocked out Malfoy. She had gathered that he was the ring leader, the one in charge of the whole operation. She cowered beneath him, afraid. They knew, they knew Malfoy was coming and there was nothing she could do stop them from coming.

The leader bent down and picked up Roxanna's wand from the snow-covered ground. He smiled down at her. "You look cold, my dear. Maybe we should warm you up a bit." He snapped his fingers and she felt two pairs of strong arms, grab her and drag her off to a clearing of headstones. She saw stacks of wood arranged in the way someone would put them if they were going to start a bonfire. She gasped and tried to struggle, but the arms holding her were too strong, she could not break their grasp.

Their leader pointed his own wand at the wood and flicked it slightly to the side. Immediately, bright flames erupted from the wood that seemed to have a life of its own. Fiendfire, they were going to burn her with fiendfire. She was going to die! Malfoy and Harry would be too late. There was no way they would reach her in time.

"Hold out her arm!" The tall brunette ordered. She felt her right arm yanked from her side and held near the fire. She could feel the heat on her fingertips and she was only six feet away. Those who held her walked closer to the fire. She was now three feet away. Closer still, they moved her until the fire engulfed her fingers and quickly spread up her entire arm. She screamed. She screamed until her throat was hoarse from use. Her arm was burning, her body was burning. She knew the flames only engulfed her arm but it felt like her whole body was on fire. She felt like she was suffocating, like she was burning at the stake at a middle ages witch burning.

She lost control of her body and pulled her arm out of the fire. She tried to smother the flames in the snow but all it did was melt instantly at the flames touch. She could not stop her screaming as she watched her whole arm disintegrate before her eyes. Her skin seemed to melt away and her eyes widened when she saw her bones. They cracked and broke apart from the insatiable heat.

Suddenly, the flames were gone, yet the pain was still there. She looked down at her arm through blurred vision due to tears of pain. Her arm was still there yet it was charred to a crisp. A protective spell must have been cast over her arm to keep her body intact, yet give her more pain than any normal fire could give her. What she had seen was an illusion to make the pain more than it really was. These men were sick, they disgusted her and she wanted to hurl right there.

"Now the other arm!" she heard someone yell. She gulped and braced herself for more excruciating pain but nothing happened.

"No," the leader said, walking towards her. "I think it's time for something new." He waved his wand and the fiendfire was extinguished instantly. He stepped up to her and the two who were holding her let her go and she dropped to the ground. She let her burned arm lay limply in the snow and gathered up as much of the cold material as she could and covered her arm in it. The snow barely did anything to sooth her burn. The curse must have prevented it from being healed by any normal means. She cursed the man standing in front of her and spat at his feet.

The man frowned, anger apparent in his face. Roxanna immediately regretted her actions as the man raised his wand and sneered. He pointed the tip at the woman at his feet and spoke the curse with no emotion.

"_Crucio!_"

XX0XX0XX0XX

"Has anyone ever been to Voldemort's graveyard?" Draco asked the four around him. He looked from one blank face to the next and soon realized that no one had. It looked like he was the only one. "Very well, looks like you are all going to have to grab on to me seeing as I'm the only one who's been there before."

Weasley frowned and crossed his arms angrily. "There is no way I am letting Malfoy take me somewhere I have never been by aparation!"

"Ron, we've got no choice!" Granger coaxed. "He's the only one who can get us there."

"She's right, Ron," Potter agreed. Draco gaped at him. Was this man actually going to trust him for once? He did not trust him with his story of what happened at Roxanna's house, he did not trust him to befriend Roxanna, and he never trusted him throughout their years at Hogwarts from the very day they met. So why was he going to trust him now? "As much as I hate to admit it, our only hope of saving Roxanna lies with Malfoy. We've got to just suck it up and trust him." He turned to the blonde. "Very well, take us there." Draco nodded and motioned for all them to grab on to him.

The Weasley girl grabbed on to the back of his shirt, Potter his left arm, Granger grabbed on to Weasley who begrudgingly grabbed Draco's right arm.

He concentrated, concentrated with all his might on the forest surrounding the graveyard. It was not safe to aparate directly into the graveyard, there was no telling what could be waiting for them there. Spinning on the spot, he disaparated with a loud crack and before he knew it, he was standing in the midst of more snow-covered trees.

"Where are we?" the Weasley girl asked.

"The forest surrounding the graveyard," Draco replied. "I thought it best to come in near it than actually right in the middle of the headstones."

"Nice plan," Ron said sarcastically. "But where do we go from here?"

Draco glanced around and saw the small path he had concentrated on before he got there. "This way," he said as he motioned for the others to follow him. Turning left down the path, he jogged for a few minutes until his injuries caught up with him. Slowing down, he walked the rest of the way to the graveyard. It took a while, but he was almost relieved when they made it to the graveyard. Relieved until he saw the one thing he was hoping beyond anything that he would not see.

The five of them emerged from the thicket to see a mess of burned wood, disturbed snow and depressing sculptures. At first it seemed as if the graveyard was empty, but further searching showed that it most definitely was not. Draco rounded a corner and almost cried out in sadness and anger. He saw her, motionless, lifeless, strewn across the lap of a weeping angel. The angel's arms were spread apart and the head cocked to one side as if it was carved for the specific purpose of weeping over Roxanna Porter. Her body leaned against one of the angel's arms in a limp mass. Her right arm was very badly burned and there was vomit residue at the corners of her mouth. She was bleeding, or she just had blood on her. It was impossible to tell whether the blood was hers or where the blood came from.

He could not believe it. He was too late. She was gone and there was nothing he could do to change that. He took a step towards her, then another, and another until he stood right above her. Draco dropped to his knees, he reached for her, caressed her face with his palm. He could not hold them back any longer and he just let the tears flow freely from his eyes. He did not care if Potter or Weasley or any of them saw him cry. He did not care about anything anymore. Roxanna was gone and now his life was over.

"Rox, please, wake up," he pleaded. "Please don't be dead. You can't be." He paused before he spoke once again. "I love you, Roxanna."

"Such a shame, isn't it?" a cold voice sounded to his left and the big man who had dragged him back into the house only hours before stepped out from behind a tall statue of a horned demon.

Draco bolted to his feet and spun on the spot. Anger flooded through him. This was the man who caused it all, this was the man who tortured him, tortured Roxanna and killed her. He would make this man pay if it was the last thing he did.

"Say," the man said, sounding surprised. He raised a finger and pointed at Draco. "You're that Malfoy boy, the one that had fallen in love with the mudblood."

"Don't you call her that! Don't **ever** call her that!" Draco yelled. He drew his wand out as fast as he could and moved towards the brown-haired man threateningly. He was ready to kill, prepared to kill if it meant taking Roxanna's killer of this planet. Someone grabbed him, more than one person grabbed him, stopping his advance on the enemy. He struggled, trying to free himself from their grip. "Let me go!" he yelled. "Let me go, I want to kill him!"

"Stop it, Malfoy!" It was Potter. "We don't know if his companions are with him or not!"

"I don't care!" he screamed. "I'll kill him, I swear I will!"

"It would be smart to listen to your friends, boy," the man commented.

"Shut **up**!" Draco was tired of listening to that man. The only time he wanted to see him was in a morgue. "You're the bastard who killed her, I should see to it that you die a horrible, painful death." He threatened with his wand tip pointed at the man standing in front of him.

He smiled. "Yes, I did kill her," he admitted. "I must say, it was rather entertaining."

"She has vomit residue on her mouth," he heard Weasley state as he released Malfoy along with Potter. It was apparent that he was just as angry and Draco was. "Did you poison her?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. The little bitch threw up on my cloak." He frustratingly shook the bottom of his cloak to show the vomit stain he had acquired.

His cloak? A woman was dead and he was worrying about his cloak? The man was mental! Furious and no longer held back by Weasley and Potter, Draco lunged at the man. His hands found their way to the man's throat. He backed him up against a rather large headstone, squeezing his hands tighter around the man's neck. He jabbed his wand tip into the man's cheek. "Now you're going to pay." The torturing curse was on the tip of his tongue. He was ready to make this man know the meaning of pain. Something poked the side of his neck. Slowly turning his head, he came face to face with his father once again.

"Leave Ben alone, son."

"Father!" he cried. "You're the one who instigated this!"

Lucius only nodded but kept his wand against his son's throat to make sure he did not curse the big man named Ben. Draco was quick. As fast as he could he released Ben and shot a stunning spell at his father. Ben ran for it as Lucius returned his son's attack with a killing curse. Once Draco and his father were locked in a duel, more of the hooded witches and wizards ran out of the woods and joined in. A major fight, a brawl, broke out and Potter, the Weasley girl, Granger, and Weasley ended up dueling three or four wizards at a time.

Draco was angrier than he had ever been before. He was furious, furious that his own father would attempt to kill him twice and have the one woman he loved killed. Why? What was the point of it all? At the moment, none of these questions mattered. What mattered what the duel. They were dueling to kill now. He could no longer live with this man as his father, he could no longer stand it.

Curses, spells and charms alike flew past them, narrowly missing both of them several times. Draco lost track of the surrounding battles. What he concentrated on was killing his father. An explosion nearby and flying debris of marble indicated that one of the headstones was hit with a curse and was now completely destroyed. Some of the debris hit him in the side of the head, nearly knocking him unconscious, but he shook it off and continued fighting. He sent a full body bind curse at his father who dodged to the left slightly and it missed him by a few inches. He returned the attack by shooting another killing curse at his son who ducked and let the curse smash into a large angel headstone.

Another spell flew in his direction and he ducked behind a gargoyle to shield himself from the blast. Draco now got a good look at how the battle was fairing. By the looks of things, it was leaning in their direction. They were still outnumbered, but Granger and the Weasley girl fought well. They were back to back fighting five cloaked figures by themselves. Potter fought two on his own while Weasley was in the middle of a duel with the leader Ben. Two bodies lay limp in the snow, a Sectumsempra hit across the chest of one of them. Draco cringed at the sight of it. No doubt that was the work of Potter. Draco had had enough experience dealing with that curse, having almost died from it himself and he still bore the scars on his chest.

The Weasley girl pecked off another one and now the enemy was three down instead of two. Weasley paused in the middle of his battle to fire a stunning spell at one of the four Granger and his sister were dueling then returned to his own fight. Five down, six more to go.

A spell hit the gargoyle Draco was hiding behind and made him snap back to his own duel against his father. The gargoyle exploded just as he threw himself away from it. Draco ran towards the forest, intent on buying himself time to think of more spells he could use against Lucius. Blue sparks flew past his head, causing him to drop to the snow covered ground and roll. Getting back to his feet, he flicked his wand at his father and a jet of white light flew towards his father's chest. Lucius jumped to the side and raised his arm, causing the spell to pass harmlessly under his armpit.

He was ready now, ready to kill him. The curse was on his tongue, ready to just roll off, causing it to be that last words Lucius Malfoy heard before he died. To Draco's right, Potter made his own killing curse collide with one of his dueler's forehead. The body flew passed in front of him, momentarily blocking his few of his father. When he could see again, Lucius was looking around, rather confused as to what was going on. It did not register in Draco's mind what was happening. Lucius saw his son, the angry look on his face, and the wand pointed directly at him. His hands flew up just as Draco shouted the curse.

"Avada Kedavra!" The green light shot out of the end of his wand just as Lucius found his voice.

"Draco, wait-!" The curse him in the center of his chest. He flew back several feet before he landed, quite dead, on the soft snow next to an angel with a raised sword. It almost looked as if the angel was there to smite the dead man lying beneath it.

Draco stood frozen to the ground. He lowered his wand, and, breathing heavily, walked over to his father's dead body. His face was not the angry and arrogant look he always wore, the look he had when he had shown himself to his son earlier that night. No, Lucius wore a look of shock and sadness in death. It seemed that he did not expect his only son to murder him, but then again he was the one who tried to kill him in the first place. Draco turned away, disgusted at his father, disgusted at himself. This was what he was, a kinslayer, a murderer of family.

Something happened to his father, something that was not supposed to happen. It seemed that he had no control over what he was doing. Yet how had he suddenly regained his consciousness? It happened right after Potter had killed one of the wizards he had been dueling. So how…?

He looked up at the remnants of the battle. Granger and the Weasley girl were now dueling one man, same as Potter and Weasley. Bodies were strewn all across the graveyard.

Draco thought of all the possible curses that could cause someone to lose control of their own body, only one came to mind. The Imperius curse. It had to be, it was the only explanation. Potter killed the man who had put the curse on Lucius, causing him to release the curse. Therefore his father regained control of his body and consciousness.

No enemies remained, the two remaining had been either knocked out or killed. Draco looked over the battle field and laid eyes on the one thing that instigated it all.

Roxanna.

She still remained where they had left her, leaning against the weeping angel. He walked over to her, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. All this death, all this carnage, and for what? A woman born of non-magical blood? He resented who he used to be, a muggleborn-hating sadistic bastard. He hated his father, hated himself, hated hating. He was sick of it all. Why was there so much fighting over something so miniscule?

Draco walked passed Potter, Weasley, passed Granger and the Weasley girl. They all stared at him, remorse in each one of their faces. He ignored them and continued walking. Dropping to his knees once again, he reached out and took Roxanna in his arms. His tears fell on her cold and dusty face. Draco cradled her head in his arms, muttering to himself before finally screaming at the cloudy sky.

His scream was a cry of pain; a wordless shriek of suffering. The others behind him stood weeping silently as he leaned over Roxanna's face, sobbing. He held her close, keeping her away from anything that would make her body any more cold than it was. He could not stop his sobbing, the tears would not stop. What was he to do now that he had murdered his father and the woman he loved was dead? What could he do?

Snow began to fall. Everyone was silent, there was no sound aside from the occasional sob from Draco. No wind blew, just falling white snow. Unbeknownst to any of them, two eyes slowly began to open, blink a few times, and groggily stare straight ahead at Draco's torn shirt.

**A/N: It's not over yet! Don't give up on me yet!**

**God Damn People! Are you physically incapable of reviewing!? Why the fuck are you all not reviewing!? I want to know what you all think of my story! Maybe I just won't continue this story if you all continue to not review! How about that!?**


	10. Chapter 10: Until the Day I Die

**A/N: God, FINALLY I can get on and upload this. Fucking site had a "glitch" that would supposedly get fixed within a few minutes. But no, it had to take three fucking days. Damn, incompetent tech people...**

**I would bore you with a rant about how much I hate my life and how big of a Dipshit my English professor is, but I don't think you want to hear that. I think what you really want is to finish this story, so here you go, have fun.**

Chapter 9------Until the Day I Die

Roxanna stirred without opening her eyes. She heard people talking around her but did not pay too much attention to what they were saying. She felt a stinging pain in her right arm and grunted from the sore skin.

Something or someone pushed down on the edge of the bed she lay in. Wait, a bed? Yup, these were definitely sheets draped across her. Roxanna squeezed her eyes shut, then blinked several times before all the people around her came into focus.

Hermione was leaning close to her, her hand pressed into the mattress next to Roxanna's right hip. "What?" the red-head asked, absolutely baffled as to what was going on. "Where am I?"

"St. Mungo's," Ron replied. He was leaning against the wall next to his wife in the cramped hospital room. "You wouldn't believe how bad visitor's service is here!"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Don't insult Roxanna's work right in front of her!" Ron merely shrugged and made a face that said "Well, it's true!"

Roxanna glanced around the room. Harry and Ginny were also there, a few cuts and scrapes on their faces and arms. They were sitting in two chairs at the end of her bed, their hands linked across the armrests. Luna sat on the window sill, mindlessly fingering the flowers that sat in a vase next to her as she smiled happily at her friend in the hospital bed and to Roxanna's great surprise, Neville was there as well. He stood next to Luna, his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He still had his teacher's robes on indicating that he must have come directly from Hogwarts to see her.

The Irish girl looked at the open doorway in search of the one person she wanted to see and who appeared not to be there. She only saw a robed shoulder just passed her line of sight and she sighed, easing back into her pillows.

"What happened?" she asked no one in particular.

Everyone in the room froze at the sound of her question. Hermione bit her lip and looked back at her husband and best friend. They both shrugged and she turned back to the red-head leaning against the pillows. "Well, you almost died," she said, sounding a bit nervous. "You're lucky we came when we did, otherwise you would have been."

"No," Roxanna interjected. "I mean what happened? How did you get me out of there?"

No one spoke for quite some time until the person who Roxanna had seen in the hallway entered the room. Draco Malfoy leaned against the door frame, his arm in a sling with many bandages all across his body, and spoke up for the first time since he had been in St. Mungo's.

"You were the one who helped us," he stated, no emotion showing on his face.

Roxanna cocked her head to the side. What was he talking about?

"If it weren't for your patronus, we may never have found you." So that was it, the patronus. She should have known.

"It's Malfoy we should all be thanking," Harry chimed in. The red-head knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. "Without him, we would have never made it to that graveyard at all."

"What the hell are you talking about, Harry?" Roxanna asked.

"He means that Malfoy was the one who aparated us all there because he was the only one of us who knew what the place looked like." Ginny spoke without any expression on her face but she nodded towards Malfoy when she mentioned his name.

Roxanna looked back up at the man she loved. Was this true? Did he really work together with her friends? The people he hated most of all? Malfoy was not looking at her but staring gloomily, almost guiltily, at his toes.

"Malfoy was hysterical when you passed out again," Luna said in her dreamy voice. The blonde in question almost raised his head and sneered at Luna for her comment but held himself back, not wanting to cause any strife in the cramped room. "He was screaming at his doctor trying to find out what happened to you when I came in."

Malfoy was quiet the whole time Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny relayed their story to Roxanna; from the time they found Malfoy passed out in the red-head's living room to the time she herself had woken up in her bed. They told her how the people who had kidnapped her were post-war radicals and Roxanna was reminded strongly of the American Ku Klux Klan who were originally made up of former Confederate soldiers that were angry at the outcome of the Civil War.

Roxanna could visually imagine the entire battle in her head as Hermione explained how they followed her footprints through the snowy forest, then aparated to the graveyard and found her broken body. When she began explaining the battle after they had run into Lucius, Malfoy seemed to seclude himself even more. He seemed angry. No, he looked depressed. Why? What could possibly cause him to feel this way? That explanation was soon to come. Hermione had difficulty describing what happened after the battle had broken out. What she could relay was short on detail of anyone but her and Ginny. She did manage to tell who had taken out whom. She had an air of pride in her as she told of how Ron had taken out the leader of the group, a man named Ben, but when she got to Malfoy's duel with his father, her voice became grave.

Malfoy was no longer looking in the room, but staring out in the hallway with a look of great remorse. Lucius had been imperiused, forced against his will to attack his son and kill Roxanna. It turned out that right before he died, the man who had held Lucius under the curse was killed, thus breaking the bond between wand wielder and victim. Lucius had only a split second of revelation before he was hit by the killing curse from his son. Draco had not known what had transpired until it was too late.

Roxanna was feeling oddly woozy from all the information she was now collecting in her head. She turned her head to the side and saw how charred and ugly her right arm was. She felt no remorse for those men and women who had done that do her. But when she looked up at Malfoy, who stood idly by, his face glazed over with a mask of shame, she felt a twinge of sorrow for the man. He had murdered his father under false pretences and was now feeling the guilt tug at his heart. She could feel it radiate off him; the more she stared at him, she felt more and more of the grief and guilt he felt. A single tear slid down the side of her face, one tear for all the pain and suffering he had been through.

One tear for one broken man.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna woke up with a start. She had fallen asleep without realizing it almost immediately after she had listened to Hermione explain everything that had happened to her. She looked around the room. It was dark, nighttime by the looks of things, and everyone that had been there when she had woken up before was gone; all except one. Malfoy sat in the chair Harry had occupied earlier that day, his head drooped to the side, eyes closed and fast asleep.

The red-head smiled. He was still there, even after he had hurt himself emotionally beyond repair, he still insisted on remaining behind to stay with her.

Her mouth was dry, she was thirsty. Turning her head to her right, she located the console on the bedside table that would call for the nurses. She clenched her teeth, knowing that it would hurt tremendously when she reached for it. She tried with her right hand first but a searing pain shot through her whole arm and let it fall back to her side. She then tried with her left hand and discovered that rolling over worked better and did not hurt as much.

"Come. On." The consol was just out of her reach, lying on the table tauntingly. "Almost there…" She could touch it with her finger tips now. Roxanna let out grunts of frustration as she accidentally pushed the consol a bit farther away from her. Flopping back down on the bed to where she was before, she decided to just go all or nothing. Taking a deep breath, she heaved herself back up and quickly reached out one more time for the consol.

Crash!

She had made a big sweeping motion with her hand and accidentally hit passed the consol to the lamp on the table, sweeping the lamp, the consol, and an empty food tray off the table and onto the floor.

Roxanna looked over to where Malfoy had sat, sound asleep. He was now wide awake, startled, and looking around the room in complete surprise. The corner of her mouth twitched as he looked at her, completely baffled. She was frozen stiff, her arm still over the bedside table and she stared at Malfoy like a deer in the headlights.

"Um…" she began, at a loss for words. "I was just…uh…"

He raised one blonde eyebrow, a small smirk on his lips. "Acting strange?" he finished for her. Her mouth twitched one more time before she slumped back on her pillows and pouted. "Did you want something?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said, her voice sounding suspiciously sarcastic. "I'd like one large dose of instant cure!" His other eyebrow rose at her comment. "And while you're at it, why don't you grab me a bottle of racist eradication."

Malfoy's eyebrows returned to normal as he brushed off Roxanna's sarcastic comments and bent down to pick up the lamp, consol, and food tray off the floor. "What were you trying to get?" he asked.

"The consol," she replied. "I want water."

Malfoy picked everything up off the floor and returned them to the bedside table. "You should have just woken me," he began. "I'll get you some."

Roxanna began to protest but he was out the door before she could get any sound out of her mouth. She waited in silence for only a few minutes before he returned with a Styrofoam cup filled with water. He helped her sit up and prop herself against the pillows and she eagerly took the cup from him with one and chugged the entire cup full of water. Smacking her lips, she smiled as she crunched the cup in her hand and tossed it in the trash can across the room. It made it in and she threw her fist in the air, crying out in celebration.

Malfoy just rolled his eyes and pulled the chair he had been sitting in up next to Roxanna's hospital bed. She stared at him, her smile still on her face but it was apparent that she had no idea what he was doing.

"Roxanna," he began. Her smile faltered at his tone. "I wanted to ask you something, but," he paused. "I haven't spoken with Potter or Weasley about it because I wanted you to make the decision for yourself. However, I'm not sure if Potter will react too kindly towards this."

Roxanna tilted her head to the side, unable to comprehend what Malfoy was talking about. She decided to just wait and see what he had to say.

"I talked to your healer and he said that they will be releasing you back to your home in a few days." He stopped here and the red-head was now thoroughly confused. "If there was one thing this whole mess had told me," he continued. "Is that you deserve someone a lot better than me, but I love you, Roxanna and after the deal in the graveyard, I've discovered that I cannot stand life without you." This was sweet; all fine and dandy, but what was he getting at? "What I'm trying to say is that you've become my whole life. You are the only thing that is keeping my life together, the only thing that is keeping me from killing myself from the guilt of murdering my own father." He fell silent, obviously nervous about something. His head fell, then, as if a sudden feeling of courage seized him, he picked his head up and looker the red-head strait in the eyes.

"Roxanna Porter, I want you to be my wife."

Roxanna could only gape stupidly at the man staring quite seriously back at her. She felt oddly like a fish after several seconds that felt like hours of not finding anything to say in return. Was he serious? Did he really want to marry her? Had to be; the look on his face was a dead give-away.

Finally, after a few minutes of yelling at her brain to say something, she closed her mouth, took a big breath, and answered him.

"I would love to."

Malfoy must have been holding his breath because as she had spoken, he let out a great amount of air from his lungs and sighed in relief. Hi hands were shaking as he reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and shiny. He held it out to her in his uninjured arm and showed her a silver ring with a light blue aquamarine fitted into the metal.

"I remember how you said you hated diamonds so I got you a gemstone instead."

Roxanna took the ring from his hand with her good hand and held it up to the light. She turned it around several times to examine it from all sides before placing it on her finger with great difficulty seeing as she could only used her left hand. Once she finally got it on her finger, she held it up one more time before reaching over and pulling Malfoy down to her level, placing a long, romantic kiss on his lips.

XX0XX0XX0XX

Roxanna was released from St. Mungo's three days later and the first thing she did when her arm was healed was go straight back to her parent's home to beg for her father's forgiveness. This time, she brought along Hermione instead of Malfoy. Patrick Porter was less intimidated with another girl that was just like his own daughter there instead of Malfoy. It was a lot easier to talk to him this time than I had been before and it took a while (several hours in fact) but she was able to get him to agree on a fair compromise. Roxanna would not expose any magic to him, not even bring her wand or talk about anything from the magical world in exchange for letting her back into their lives. He even agreed to give her away at her wedding.

Malfoy went back to his father's home, accompanied by Roxanna, and explained everything to his mother; even the terrible fact that he had killed his own father. Narcissa was angry and refused to talk to either one of them for several weeks. However, after almost a month of not being able to live at his home, Narcissa sent her son an owl asking for his forgiveness and an invitation to the wedding saying that she had thought over Draco's story several times and had come to the conclusion that he had no choice in the matter of killing Lucius. He did not mean to but it had to be done. She understood and asked her son if he would return home.

A month after family issues had been sorted out, the wedding took place.

**A/N: (bursts into random song) "I'll spill my heart for you! For you!" Sorry, I had to, I just love this song too much. X) Annnyway, while I was waiting for the damn glitch to fix itself, I ended up finishing this story (Yay! I know) and starting my Oliver Wood story. I can't wait to get through that one, my OC kicks ass! Woohoo! Just like me! X) (yeah, I wrote all this instead of doing my homework, now I'm wishing that I hadn't. I'm a douch! =.=')**


	11. Epilogue: Ordinary Day

**A/N: Follows JK Rowling's original prologue "Nineteen Years Later." I don't give a damn if you hated the prologue from the books, I for one enjoyed it very much and like what she did with all the characters. So if you don't like it, get over it!!! You yell at me I will hunt you down and slice you open in your sleep. **

**I want to know who this Astoria Greengrass woman is! She was not mentioned in any of the damn books so why is she now suddenly a character and married to Malfoy? In the book, Draco's wife remains nameless, shapeless, colorless, and emotionless. So, I thought I would just create her considering JK Rowling left it pretty damn open to us. I repeat myself, WHO THE FUCK IS ASTORIA GREENGRASS AND WHERE THE FUCK DID SHE COME FROM!!!???**

**Each chapter title is the name of a song. The songs are as follows:**

**Prlg: Breath by Breaking Benjamin, Chp 1: Nightmare by Eve 6, Chp 2: Panic Attack by Dream Theater, Chp 3: Stricken by Disturbed, Chp 4: Back Home by Cold, Chp 5: Stab My Back by The All American Rejects, Chp 6: Angels With Dirty Faces by Sum 41, Chp 7: Voodoo by Godsmack, Chp 8: The Kinslayer by Nightwish, Chp 9: Until the Day I Die by Story of the Year, Eplg: Ordinary Day by Great Big Sea**

**These are all wonderful songs. If you are a rock/metal fan, you will love them (Great Big Sea is a Folk band. They're cool too).**

Epilogue--------Ordinary Day

"Hurry up, boys!" Roxanna yelled from the ground floor of the house. "If you don't get down here in the next two minutes, we'll miss the train!"

The last line must have done the trick because there was a loud obnoxious banging from the top floor of the house and an eleven-year-old blonde boy came barreling down the stairs with his school trunk thumping down each stair behind him. His father followed suit, though not as enthusiastic as his young son. They both stopped in their tracks right in front of Roxanna at the foot of the stairs.

Roxanna stood stalk still as she looked over the two in front of her. Draco's hair was ruffled and out of place whiles their son, Scorpius, yes Scorpius; Roxanna had lost the naming fight, had his clothes completely mismatched and on backwards. The ignorant duo obvious had no knowledge of muggle clothes.

The red-head sighed. "Honestly you two." She set her purse down on the carpeted floor and began futzing with her son's disheveled clothes. She removed the ugly vest Draco had pulled over Scorpius's head and then unbuttoned and re-buttoned the collared shirt he was wearing. She looked up at her husband and raised an eyebrow. "You forgot all about muggle clothes, didn't you?"

Draco's hands flew up in the air to exaggerate his defense. "Hey! Don't blame me! I've only worn muggle clothes once and I only own one outfit!"

Roxanna just shook her head and began fixing her son's belt. "And you forgot how to fasten a belt!"

"Well, I think that immediately goes along with forgetting all about muggle clothes, Rox." His voice was suspiciously sarcastic.

She finished fixing Scorpius's jeans and belt then stood up strait and turned to her husband. Their son grabbed his trunk and owl and dragged them to the front door. "I do assume you didn't get your belt fastened either?"

Draco shook his head. "Nope, I'm not even wearing it."

"But you need it!" she protested. "Otherwise your pants will fall down!"

"Roxanna," he began. "I've gotten a bit bigger over the last few years so I don't need the belt anymore."

His wife glared at him disbelievingly but shook it off and picked her purse up again. "Let's go, Scorpius. You don't want to miss the train on your first day."

The little boy's eyes widened with shock and he shook his head, determined to not be late. Draco walked up behind them and grabbed their son's trunk while Roxanna took the owl cage. They climbed into the car in the driveway, Roxanna in the driver's seat seeing as Draco had no idea how to work a car, and the family drove off to King's Cross train station.

XX0XX0XX0XX

King's Cross was packed. Half an hour early and still, Wizarding families packed platform nine and three quarters. Scorpius jumped nearly three feet in the air when he saw the big scarlet steam engine sitting on the tracks.

"Look mom!" he yelled as he pointed enthusiastically at the Hogwart's Express. Roxanna smiled at her son; he could really act a lot younger than he really was at times. "Dad, can go on it now?"

Draco looked at his wife who nodded before he knelt down in front of his son. "I just have one thing to ask you before you go," he said. Roxanna listened to the two conversing as she scanned the crowd of students and parents in search of her own friends. "What house would you like be sorted into?"

Scorpius seemed to think about it for a second before answering. "It doesn't matter to me, dad," he replied. "But if I had to choose, I'd say Slytherin!" He spoke the last few words with a big smile on his face.

Draco smiled and ruffled his son's hair. "That's my boy!" He stood up as Scorpius ran off with his trunk and owl and boarded the train. He looked at his wife who was staring off in another direction. "What is it?" he asked.

She pointed in the direction she was staring. "Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione are over there," she said.

Draco followed her gaze and saw that, indeed, the four that had helped him rescue Roxanna twelve years earlier were seeing their own children off just as they were. Draco caught Harry's eye and decided that he no longer wanted to stick around much longer. He nodded once in his rival's direction then took Roxanna's hand and began to walk down the side of the train. He thought he would try and find the window Scorpius's compartment was in.

"Do you mind if I ask them if they would like to come over tonight for dinner?" Roxanna asked her husband.

Draco really did not want to see those four in that house again, but they were his wife's friends and he could not just say no to her. He sighed; figured he could at least try and make friends with them, for the tenth time. "Okay, but just for tonight." She smiled before kissing him on the cheek and running back up the side of the train.

The blonde man found his son in a window fifteen feet down the platform from where Roxanna now stood talking with Harry. Raising his hand, he rapped three times on the glass before his son opened the window and poked his head out.

"Hey, dad!" he exclaimed. "I just met this other kid in here and he looks an awful lot like that Harry Potter kid you were always complaining about."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What's his name?"

"Hold on." Scorpius's blonde head disappeared back into the train for a moment before reappearing out the window. "Say's it's Albus, but likes to be called 'Al.'"

Draco was silent for a moment, remembering what Roxanna had said once about her friend's children. Yup, it was Potter's kid alright. The middle child, the one that looked the most like Potter himself. "He looks like Potter because he is a Potter."

Scorpius's smile disappeared in an instant. "What?" he queried. "But he keeps saying that he's afraid of being sorted into Slytherin, dad. Wasn't Harry Potter in Gryffindor?"

His father shrugged. "He was, but no matter what house he's sorted into, make good friends with him, Scorp. You find that when you're older, you begin to regret your hatred towards others."

Scoprius looked confused at his father's words but was unable to ask what he meant when the whistle sounded and the train began to move. Roxanna appeared next to her husband just as Scorpius yelled his goodbye to his parents and the train disappeared around the corner.

"They said they would love to visit us for dinner," Roxanna told Draco.

He smiled. "Well then, I guess we're going to have a long day of cleaning and cooking ahead of us."

The red-head took Draco's arm and the two of them walked back through the barrier to the muggle area of King's Cross. "Looks like it."

**A/N: Well there you have it. This is the end. You know what I've realized? I can't write a story, any story, even a romance, without putting some kind of violence in it. I must be a really, REALLY sadistic person...**

**Anyhoo, I've decided to give up on asking for reviews. I'm just going to put three words at the end of each chapter:**

**"Review or Die"**


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